Settler Violence = State Violence

Stealing the poor man’s lamb: As part of efforts to take over land in the West Bank, settlers steal sheep and goat flocks, often with assistance from the military, severely harming herders’ livelihoods

As part of the broad offensive on all aspects of Palestinian existence in the West Bank waged by Israel since October 2023 through official forces and settlers, attacks on Palestinians who make their living raising sheep, goats and cattle have intensified, and livestock theft has become routine.In the first five months of 2026, B’Tselem documented 17 incidents of livestock theft from Palestinians. While such thefts have occurred in previous years, some of the recent incidents appeared more organized, and in eight of them, soldiers watched over the settlers as they stole the animals.Palestinians were killed in two of the incidents: in Mikhmas, settlers killed Nasrallah Abu Siyam, and in Jiljilya, Israeli forces killed Yusef Ka’abnehFive of the incidents took place in areas defined in the Oslo Accords as Area B, and one incident took place in Area A.Pushed out of nearly all the open spaces they had used for grazing livestock because of Israeli efforts to take over these areas, Palestinian herders were forced to move their animals into the villages. They soon discovered that they were not safe even there and that their livelihoods could be taken away at any moment. The thefts we have documented since the beginning of the year were carried out almost entirely inside the villages themselves.With the average price of a single sheep in the West Bank currently ranging between 2,000 and 4,000 ILS (~660–1,300 USD), the value of a flock of 100 sheep is on average about 300,000 ILS (~98,600 USD). Denied access to grazing and the ongoing threat of theft have made livestock rearing for income a hazardous, if not impossible, occupation. Many herders have been forced to sell their animals and look for alternative sources of income.From the beginning of 2026 through the end of May, B’Tselem documented 17 incidents of livestock theft throughout the West Bank:[block:settlers_blog_map_block updates=218836,218848,218856,217743,218818,218839,218840,218841,218842,218843,218844,218845,218846,218847,218852,218854,218920,218921cluster=0 icon=pin-sheep.png hide_nid]For example, in the village of al-Mughayir, where herders kept tens of thousands of sheep until just a few years ago, only a few thousand animals remain, and their owners, who cannot graze them on village land due to Israeli policies, take heavy losses as they must buy animal feed.Denying access to grazing, restrictions on movement and severe acts of violence are part of the government’s policy to take over the open areas of the West Bank. Having pushed livestock herders out of these areas and forced them to keep their animals inside the villages themselves, livestock theft is another element in the assault on the Palestinian rural communities, designed to destroy the sheep rearing sector, prevent any return to grazing and impoverish herders.