Sinjil: Palestinian town besieged by settler violence and Israeli army wall

Ayed Ghafri no longer allows his children to play in the yard.

The Palestinian resident of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank is haunted by the recent uptick in settler violence against Palestinians. 

Surrounded by five Israeli settlements from east to west, the town north of Ramallah is often a target of settler violence, including arson attacks and the throwing of stones. 

However, the attacks intensified in recent months, forcing some families to flee and others to remain trapped indoors, fearful for their safety. 

"The attacks are daily and frequent because the settlement was built next to our homes,” Ghafri told Middle East Eye.

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“We cannot leave our children playing outside alone for fear of their safety," he added.

A group of settlers, accompanied by a settlement official, stoned Ghafri’s house early last month and threatened to kill him for trying to reach his land with human rights activists.

Then on 21 April, when Ghafri and a group of villagers approached an area where settlers had recently erected a new outpost, they were met again with violence.

“We were a group of activists and volunteers,” Ghafri said. 

“As soon as we arrived, settlers attacked us. Then soldiers fired tear gas canisters, and one hit me directly in the head.”

He suffered burns to his face and scalp, as well as severe breathing difficulties. 

That same day, soldiers fired tear gas at residents attempting to protect their property, which settlers had reportedly set alight. 

Ghafri’s cousin and close friend, Wael Ghafri, died of suffocation after being assaulted by soldiers. Another young man was critically wounded.

‘No choice but to move’ 

Ghafri’s home stands on land partially seized by the Ma’ale Levona settlement, established in 1983 on territory belonging to Sinjil - a town of 7,500 residents - and neighbouring villages.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has confiscated 70 more dunams (seven hectares) of land belonging to Ghafri and his neighbours, citing military purposes. However, residents accuse the army of facilitating settlement expansion under the guise of security.

After losing access to their farmland, residents began planting crops in their yards to sustain themselves. But even these makeshift plots were destroyed, as settlers reportedly brought cows into the neighbourhood to graze on them.

In 2023, the Israeli army also blocked the road leading to Muzayri'a neighbourhood, where Ghafri lives, with earth mounds, effectively cutting it off from the rest of the town. 

“If we need to buy bread, for example, we have to walk seven kilometres to the nearest grocery store,” Ghafri told MEE. 

Repeated attacks by settlers and soldiers since then have driven many residents out, paving the way for further land seizures, he said. 

Residents of 14 homes in the area have been forced to abandon them, fearing they could be seized at any moment under the threat of continued violence.

“We’ve faced dozens of attacks - house doors blown open, women and children beaten,” Ghafri explained. 

“We had no choice but to move our families.”

Isolation 

In September 2024, Israel began constructing an iron wall around Sinjil.

The barrier, stretching 1,500 metres in length and standing 4.5 metres high, is designed to separate the town from Route 60 - a major highway running north to south and connecting six key Palestinian cities.

The wall will isolate approximately 8,000 dunams (80 hectares) of privately owned agricultural land, threatening to cut off residents from their property. 

Several homes face the risk of isolation or demolition, effectively besieging the town and severely restricting residents’ freedom of movement.

Moataz Tawafsha, the mayor of Sinjil, told MEE that the wall poses a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of the town’s residents.

'The wall imposes collective punishment on Sinjil’s residents'

- Moataz Tawafsha, Sinjil mayor

Its construction, he said, has already led to the destruction of vast areas of agricultural land, the uprooting of around 300 trees - including 135 ancient olive trees - and the demolition of retaining walls.

“This wall is part of an Israeli settlement plan aimed at isolating the town from surrounding Palestinian areas,” Tawafsha said. 

Running alongside the wall will be a security road regularly patrolled by the Israeli military.

The army has already tightened restrictions on the town by closing main entrances, erecting a military gate at the southern access point, and installing temporary military checkpoints at other entryways. The wall, Tawafsha warned, adds yet another layer of siege.

He described the planned road as having "disastrous consequences" for Sinjil, noting that it would cut off many residents and large areas of farmland. 

It will also impede access to nearby cities such as Ramallah and Nablus, leaving residents dependent on a military-controlled gate and forced to use lengthy alternative routes.

“The wall imposes collective punishment on Sinjil’s residents and turns the town into a besieged enclave, surrounded by settlements, separation walls, and closed military gates,” he added.

‘Cowboys’

While Israel claims the wall is being built for security reasons, residents say it is part of a broader strategy to tighten Israeli control.

Mohammed Ghafri, whose land is under threat, warned that if the wall is completed, these areas will be permanently lost - in a similar way to lands cut off by the separation wall elsewhere in the West Bank.

Their fears are reinforced by the presence of multiple outposts already established by settlers. Residents believe the goal is to link these outposts, creating a settlement belt that severs the northern West Bank from its centre.

Ghafri described how settlers use a “cowboy” strategy to seize land - releasing cattle to graze on Palestinian farmland, claiming it as uninhabited.

“We haven’t been able to access our land for months,” he said. 

“Settlers have taken advantage of this, grazing their cows and destroying our seasonal crops.”

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, all of which have been built since Israel captured the territories in the 1967 conflict.

Under international law, settlement construction in an occupied territory is illegal.

Since October 2023, Israeli settlers have established 60 new outposts across the occupied West Bank, according to data from the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

The Commission also reported that Israeli settlement activity and related violence led to the displacement of 29 Palestinian communities during the same period. 

These included 311 families, totalling around 2,000 individuals, who were forced to leave their homes between 7 October 2023 and the end of 2024.

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