Al-Mughayir, Ramallah District: A settler grazing sheep on village land shot and killed a young man who tried to drive him away

On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, at around 9:00 A.M., three settlers, all armed with rifles, set out from an outpost established on al-Mughayir village land towards homes in the village, and set a flock to graze nearby. They remained near the village and at around 5:00 P.M., two of them led the flock close to a playground built a few months earlier in the southern part of the village.

Children playing there ran away and told residents about the settlers’ presence.

At that time, Sa’id Na’asan, 22, was at his home in the village, about 250 meters north of the playground. When he learned on social media that settlers were near the playground, he went there with two friends who live in the same area.

The three young men shouted at the settlers, demanding that they leave. One settler did leave with the livestock, but the other refused to go. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the latter, who was carrying a firearm, was a soldier on leave. The young men began throwing stones to drive him away from the houses and the playground, and he aimed his firearm at them. The three hid behind a metal restroom structure near the playground. The soldier opened fire at the restroom from about 60 meters away. One bullet pierced the structure and hit one of the young men in the thigh. He managed to get away, and a village resident drove him to a hospital in Ramallah.

Na’asan and his other friend went about 20 meters back, toward a nearby olive grove. By then, more young men had arrived at the scene and began throwing stones at the settler. The settler continued firing at them, hitting Sa’id Na’asan in the chest. Na’asan immediately fell on his back, yet the settler continued shooting at the young men. They managed to take Na’asan to a car, which drove him to an ambulance that took him to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where he was pronounced dead at 7:00 P.M.

After Na’asan was taken away, another armed settler and five soldiers arrived. The soldiers began firing tear gas canisters and live shots at the young men and throwing stun grenades at them. The two settlers also fired live shots at the young men, who drew back into the village. The soldiers pursued them on foot, firing tear gas, but after about 15 minutes left with the settlers.

The settler who shot Na’asan left on foot toward the Metzudat David Farm outpost, established this year east of the village, while the other armed settler and the soldiers withdrew toward the Shalisha Farm outpost, established west of the site in 2024.

The following day, during Na’asan’s funeral, a settler accompanied by two soldiers approached the funeral procession. Some of the participants threw stones at them, and the settler and soldiers fired at them, but no one was hurt.

According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, “an off-duty soldier who was at the location fired several shots in the air after a riot by Palestinians who attacked civilians in the Binyamin area. Later, the soldier also fired at the suspects, who continued to approach,” adding “hits were identified,” and that “the incident is under further investigation.”

However, these were not innocent civilians on a hike in the area. Armed settlers coming from illegal outposts established on lands belonging to Palestinian villages deliberately set livestock to graze near residents’ homes in order to terrorize them, drive them out of open areas and take over more and more of their land. In this case, the settlers, one of whom was armed and, according to the military, an off-duty soldier, went from an outpost built on village land to a playground where local children were playing. Three young residents tried to make them leave, first by shouting and then by throwing stones. There was no danger to the settler’s life and he could have left, but he chose to fire live shots at the young men, with no justification, killing one of them.

Over the past three years, dozens of outposts have been established on the eastern outskirts of Ramallah. Settlers living in them have already forced out all 15 Bedouin communities and isolated families living in Area C. They are now focusing their efforts on attacking towns and villages in Area B, in a bid to take over their farmland and displace the residents.

B’Tselem field researcher Mohammad Romaneh gather testimonies from village residents on 30 September 2025.

I.N., a resident of al-Mughayir:

On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, at around 5:30 P.M., I was at home in the al-Burj area, in the southeastern part of the village, when a friend who lives nearby called me. He told me that settlers were grazing a flock of sheep near the playground that was built about four or five months earlier in the southern part of the village, about 200 meters west of my house.

I walked there right away with my friend Sa’id Na’asan and another friend from the village. We got there in less than 10 minutes. We went into the park and walked to the area of the public restrooms. We saw two settlers about 80-85 meters away from us. Both were wearing white shirts. One was holding a wooden stick and was apparently the shepherd. The other, who had sideburns and a kippah on his head, was holding a long rifle. There was a flock of sheep near them.

We shouted at the settlers in order to get them to back away, since they were very close to homes in the village, about 250–300 meters from the nearest ones. They spoke to each other, and then the shepherd took a bag that was lying on a rock and went with the flock toward Alon Route, about 500–550 meters east of the spot. We didn’t see him again.

After the shepherd left, the armed settler aimed his rifle at us, so we took cover behind the restroom, which is made of aluminum. He fired two shots at the restroom and one of them went through the wall and hit my other friend in his right thigh. He was still able to walk and escaped towards the al-Khalayel area, southwest of the village. Meanwhile, the settler kept shooting at us, and Sa’id Na’asan and I ran north.

We reached farmland with olive trees and tried to hide among them, about 100 meters north of the settler. By then, young men from the village began arriving. Some shouted at the settler and others threw stones to drive him away. My wounded friend kept fleeing southwest, and I saw the settler aim his rifled at him. Then he turned and pointed the rifle north, towards Sa’id and me, and fired two shots directly at us. I was standing behind an olive tree, and Sa’id was about five to seven meters ahead of me. The bullets hit him and he fell.

I immediately went over to him with some other young guys to get him out of there. The settler fired at us again, but we managed to reach Sa’id. He was lying on his back. We picked him up and went north. After we’d gone about 20 meters, a young man from the village drove up in a car. We put Sa’id inside and he drove off. At the same time, soldiers arrived on foot, along with another settler carrying a rifle.

The soldiers fired tear gas, stun grenades and live shots at the young men. There were a lot of people from the village there by then, because they came when they heard the shooting. Even though the soldiers were there, the settlers continued firing live shots standing right next to them. That forced us and the other young guys to withdraw north into the residential area.

The soldiers chased us on foot until they reached the houses in the southern part of the village, where they fired some tear gas canisters into people’s yards. About 10 minutes later, the soldiers and settlers withdrew south. I saw the armed settler who had shot Na’asan and my other friend walking east toward the shepherding outpost established in the al-Qala’ area about three or four months ago, near the village’s eastern entrance, which has been closed with an iron gate for about three years. The other settler and the soldiers walked southwest towards the al-Khalayel area, where another shepherding outpost was established about two and a half years ago.

After they left, I went with my family and Sa’id’s relatives to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. When we went in, they told us Sa’id had died of his wounds. The bullet penetrated the left side of his chest and exited from the right. After he was pronounced dead, we carried his body by ambulance to the neighboring village of Abu Falah to prepare him for burial, since our village has no clinic.

Sa’id Na’asan’s father, Murad Na’asan, 51, a father of five, said:

On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, at about 5:00 P.M., I sat down to a meal at home with my wife and kids, including Sa’id. At 5:30 P.M., a message was shared in the village’s social media group saying that settlers had arrived with a flock of sheep near the village playground, which is about 200-250 meters south of our home. People had shared photos of three settlers grazing sheep near the eastern homes of the village in the group earlier that morning.

When we saw the update, Sa’id left for the park. Soon afterwards, more photos were shared showing two settlers with a flock near the park, one of them wearing a white shirt and carrying a rifle. About 15-20 minutes after Sa’id left, we heard live shots from the direction of the park.

I went there with a few neighbors. On the way, we heard gunshots on and off. When we got there, I heard young men saying two people were injured, one of them seriously. They mentioned Sa’id’s name but said his injury was minor.

Immediately after that, I went home and from there, I set out with relatives and my children to the Palestine Medical Complex. On the way, I learned Sa’id had been shot in the chest and was in critical condition. It was only when we reached the hospital in Ramallah that I realized Sa’id had been killed. It was hard to grasp. We were sitting and eating together just an hour earlier, and suddenly he was gone.

We transferred his body to the neighboring village of Abu Falah, where there’s a morgue, since our village has none. We prepared for his funeral to be held the next day in our village.

On Wednesday, 24 September 2025, at around 10:00 A.M., we went to Abu Falah to bring Sa’id’s body home for farewell. When the ambulance carrying the body reached the western entrance to the village, a settler started shooting at the funeral procession. He was standing next to an ATV and two soldiers in full uniform, on the road leading to the al-Khalayel area in the southern part of the village. Young men from the village shouted at him, and some threw stones at the settler and soldiers, who responded with live fire.

After a few minutes, the settler and the soldiers went back towards the outpost south of the village. The ambulance brought the body to our home, where the young men gathered to say goodbye to Sa’id. We prayed for him and then set out for the funeral procession.

My son, like all young men, was already planning his future and dreamed of starting a family. But the settlers’ shooting, under military protection, took away my son and the smile that was always on his face.

I believe the settlers are attacking our village again and again as a strategy to pressure us to leave. I’m afraid that next time, they’ll target our homes directly, especially because they’re getting unprecedented protection from the military. This crime proves the settlers and soldiers are two sides of the same coin, and that the settlers’ actions today are part of an organized plan.