Israeli settlers obstructed firefighting efforts near West Bank Christian village, Palestinians report

Palestinian civil defence firefighters and the parish priest of Taybeh, Father Bashar Fawadleh, say Israeli settlers fired weapons and surrounded a water tanker to prevent it reaching a large fire burning near the village on the night of June 9–10, 2026. The Israeli military also temporarily blocked firefighters from accessing the site while arranging security coordination, as parts of Taybeh fall under Area B of the Oslo Accords framework, where Israeli authorities must approve Palestinian emergency responder movements. Firefighters eventually extinguished the blaze, though smoke was still visible rising from a large burned hillside when Reuters visited on Wednesday. Fawadleh said he believed the fire was arson but did not name a suspect, while Palestinian media outlets attributed it to settlers; no injuries were reported. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Taybeh, which has previously seen settler arson targeting cars and a church, and drew rare condemnation from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee last year. A UN inquiry released Tuesday found Israeli authorities directly involved in settler attacks across the West Bank, a finding Israel's mission in Geneva rejected; separately, France, Britain, Canada, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand announced coordinated sanctions against settler individuals and entities this week. The Israeli military recorded 867 incidents of settler violence in 2025, up from 682 in 2024, and the UN commission reported settlers killed seven Palestinians and wounded 832 others that year.