The town of Bruqin, west of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, was set ablaze by extremist Israeli settlers in a brutal overnight attack that left eight Palestinians injured by burns, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Eyewitnesses described a wave of terror as dozens of settlers stormed the town, torching Palestinian homes and vehicles while Israeli forces stood by — and later re-entered the town, not to protect its residents, but to shield the attackers. The mayor, Fa’id Sabra, said the people of Bruqin were living in fear, not only from settler violence, but from the ongoing military incursions that accompany it.

As flames consumed homes, the Israeli army seized several properties, transforming them into makeshift interrogation centres. Families were pulled from their homes, subjected to violent searches, and their belongings destroyed. “It is collective punishment,” a resident told local media. “They are punishing us just for being here.”

This latest attack is part of a wider campaign of terror sweeping across the West Bank. Since October, settlers and Israeli forces have dramatically escalated their assaults on Palestinian communities. Palestinian rights groups report over 967 Palestinians killed, 7,000 injured, and more than 17,000 arrested, amid widespread home demolitions, land seizures, and nightly raids.

While Gaza faces an unprecedented genocide, the West Bank is burning too — silently, methodically. Villages like Bruqin are on the frontlines of an expanding system of settler colonial violence, where Palestinians are stripped of safety, property, and voice — yet still refuse to surrender their presence.