Four Palestinians were detained over an attack on Saturday outside the Arab village of Kisan, near Bethlehem in Judea, that left two Jewish shepherds wounded, the Israel Police stated on Sunday morning.
According to Palestinian media reports, a 16-year-old Palestinian was shot in the leg during the incident, with the Israeli army confirming that one Arab was evacuated for medical treatment.
The Israel Defense Forces said that soldiers were dispatched to rescue the shepherds after Palestinians assaulted them, hurling rocks and stealing their communication devices.
When reservists arrived at the scene, “a violent confrontation occurred led by several Palestinians, which included stone-throwing toward the soldiers,” according to the IDF statement. The troops “responded with fire in order to distance the Palestinian individuals,” it continued.
“IDF, Israel Border Police, and Israel Police forces dispatched to the scene and identified several shell casings in the area,” continued the statement, adding: “The forces continue to search the area and are conducting questioning. The incident is under review.”
The separate Israel Police statement said officers immediately launched an investigation, “during which evidence was collected and indications were obtained of the involvement of village residents in the incident.”
“Within a short time, four suspects, residents of Kisan, were arrested and transferred for questioning at the Etzion Police Station,” it continued.
The criminal probe “is ongoing in order to clarify the full circumstances of the incident and to bring those involved to justice,” police concluded.
Arab aggression against Jewish shepherds in Judea and Samaria has been on the rise for years, according to data collected by authorities.
“Jewish farmers are grazing their sheep in open areas; Arabs don’t like that, even if it happens in Area C [of Judea and Samaria, where Jewish communities are located],” a regional official from Judea and Samaria told JNS in mid-2023. “They’re trying to stop them by using violence.”
More generally, Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to the most recent data, published by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria on Feb. 17, 2025.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria during 2024, with more than 300 others wounded, the NGO’s report stated.
