26/8/2025 – Union for Justice Foundation
Like many Palestinian villages, hamlets, and towns, the town of Sinjil, located northeast of Ramallah, suffers from continuous attacks and assaults carried out periodically by settler gangs, alongside repressive measures by the occupation authorities.
According to the Union for Justice Foundation, the town, which lies between Nablus and Ramallah, about 21 km from Ramallah, and covers an area of approximately 510 dunams, has been transformed by a fence recently erected by the occupation into a large prison, restricting the freedom of movement of nearly 6,700 residents.
In March 2024, the so-called “Civil Administration” of the occupation issued a decision to seize 30 dunams of the town’s land to construct a separation wall extending from the eastern entrance of the town to the entrance of the Al-Mahawil Al-Mughraq neighborhood.
The foundation explained that the occupation began building this wall in May, in the form of a metal fence 1,500 meters long and 6 meters high, controlled through steel gates and barriers that closed all roads leading into the town, except for one road, which residents must use and which is under constant Israeli military supervision.
The foundation pointed out that the construction of this fence trapped about 8,000 residents within approximately 42 dunams, isolating them from their surrounding lands. This racist measure forced residents living in that area to walk on foot or drive through narrow, winding streets to reach the single authorized entry point.
Fence, Four Outposts, and Two Settlements
In addition to this separation fence, settlers over the past two years have established four new agricultural outposts on Sinjel’s lands. The latest was on August 21, when they placed an outpost on the edges of the “Marj Arzel” plain north of the village, one of its largest plains and considered its main food source. These four agricultural outposts are in addition to two settlements that have existed on the village lands for several decades.
Israeli settlements have confiscated 551 dunams from Sinjel’s lands. Part of the village land hosts the settlements of Ma’aleh Levona, established in 1983, and Alei–Eli, established a year later. Additionally, the bypass road Route 60 seized over 246 dunams.
According to the Union for Justice Foundation, after October 7, 2023, the occupation authorities declared several areas in Sinjel as closed military zones, prohibiting residents from accessing them, even though some are no more than 200 meters from their homes. In contrast, settlers were allowed access to these areas, where they plowed and tended the lands as if they were the original owners, ultimately aiming to seize the land.
Monitoring by the Union for Justice Foundation shows that over recent months, settlers carried out multiple attacks on homes and property in Sinjel, injuring several residents and setting fire to many agricultural lands. For instance, on April 23, 2025, dozens of settlers stormed the village, injured eight residents (one by gunfire), and burned three agricultural structures.
On May 30, 2025, settlers set fire to olive fields in the Ras al-Deir area north of the village, just one day before another attack on homes on the northern outskirts of the village.
Uprooting of Ancient Olive Trees
In mid-June, settlers began uprooting and clearing ancient olive trees dating back to the Roman era on the village lands. The demolition affected approximately 10 dunams, stretching 1,200 meters in length and 10–15 meters in depth, across several locations, most notably Al-Namoura, Sha’ab Al-Nimr, and Al-Muzayra’a neighborhood, along the old Ramallah–Nablus road.
On July 4, dozens of settlers stormed the village and attacked residents, injuring three of them while they attempted to resist, following hours after another settler attack that resulted in broken vehicle windows and damaged tires.
The residents of Sinjel attempt to resist the occupation measures and reach their lands threatened with confiscation through popular and mass activities. These efforts are met with repression and abuse from both the Israeli army and the settlers.
The occupation forces periodically conduct nighttime raids in the village, arresting several citizens to silence opposition to the occupation’s measures. For instance, on July 9, soldiers detained dozens of residents, beat them, and took them to a field investigation center, accompanied by home invasions, searches, and destruction of property.
On July 11, settlers attacked a march organized to remove a nearby settler outpost in Khirbet Al-Tell in Jabal Al-Batin, south of Sinjel. This attack resulted in the deaths of two young men, Mohammad Rizq Hussein Al-Shalabi (23 years old) and Saif Al-Din Kamel Maslat (23 years old), and injured 10 others with various wounds and fractures. It stands as one of the deadliest settler attacks since October 7, 2023.
