Two Palestinians hurt by settler gunfire, including nurse said to be paralyzed for life
A Palestinian nurse has been permanently paralyzed after settler gunfire in the southern West Bank on Friday evening severed his spinal cord, according to the Palestinian Nursing and Midwifery Association.
Meanwhile, settlers continued to besiege two family homes in the village of Qusra.
The shooting of 26-year-old Muhammad al-Mutawwar near his home in the Hebron-area town of Sa’ir was “not a passing or individual incident, but the continuation of ongoing attacks on our Palestinian people, and on healthcare workers in particular,” the national nursing organization said.
Mutawwar, a nurse at the governmental hospital in the southern West Bank’s Dura, was shot in the back when settlers opened fire on Sa’ir’s al-Uddeissa area, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Another young woman was also hit in the back and in the head, the Red Crescent said. Both of the wounded were taken to a hospital in Hebron.
Palestinian media reported that the two were shot as some 30 settlers attacked al-Uddeissa from a nearby outpost established about 10 days ago.
????نقابة الممرضين بالضفة الغربية: إصابة الزميل محمد نبيل المطور برصاص مستوطنين أدت إلى قطع كامل في الحبل الشوكي وإصابته بشلل دائم سيلازمه طوال حياته. pic.twitter.com/CRN5KLFJHh
— فلسطين أون لايـن (@F24online) August 15, 2026
In footage published by Palestinian outlets from around dusk on Friday, three gunshots could be heard that were apparently fired at homes in al-Uddeissa from a hilltop opposite them.
In separate incidents on Saturday, the Palestinian Authority’s official news outlet WAFA reported that five Palestinians, mostly women and children, were injured in a settler attack on Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills area of the West Bank.
They suffered various levels of bruising, according to the report, which cited a local Palestinian activist saying the victims were two women, two young men, and a child.
Footage from the village also showed a group of settlers harassing a Palestinian woman, and kicking her while she sat on the ground. It was unclear if the woman seen in the video was among those reported as injured.
مستوطنون يعتدون على امرأة فلسطينية في خربة "أم الخير" بمسافر يطا جنوب مدينة الخليل.#فلسطين pic.twitter.com/64sSsHE3GE
— ديوان (@DiwanDaily) August 15, 2026
At Ein Shibli, east of Tubas in the northern West Bank, the Red Crescent said it treated a 16-year-old boy after settlers beat him near a roadblock set up by Israeli security forces.
The Red Crescent said Israeli forces initially prevented its ambulance from arriving. Sources in the organization were cited by WAFA as saying the ambulance was delayed for over an hour.
The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment on either incident.
Also Saturday, settlers attacked a Palestinian Authority municipal crew as the workers tried to repair power and water lines that the extremists had damaged, which reportedly prompted Israeli forces to arrest three of the workers.
The incident took place on the outskirts of Qusra, where settlers have surrounded two homes in an apparent effort to compel their residents – including young children – to flee.
The siege has gone on since last Sunday, despite Israeli authorities bolstering forces in the village and dismantling an outpost the settlers established in the area.
On Saturday morning, a group of more than a dozen settlers arrived at the entrance to one of the Palestinian homes.
תיעוד: כ-15 ישראלים הגיעו הבוקר שוב לאזור הבית הפלסטיני בקוסרה – זאת למרות הנוכחות הצבאית של כוח צבאי במקום בימים האחרונים. מצה"ל טרם נמסרה התייחסות@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/vqDWs3ENht
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) August 15, 2026
According to the military, troops were dispatched to the scene and the settlers then left the village on their own accord. There were no arrests.
In the afternoon, Palestinian Authority maintenance teams that had coordinated with the IDF arrived at two sites in the area where settlers damaged water and power lines.
In actions captured on video, around a dozen settlers rushed the crew’s bulldozer, leading its operators to retreat.
بحراسة جنود الاحتلال.. مستوطنون يهاجمون موظفي بلدية قصرة قرب بيت محاصر في البلدة، جنوب شرق نابلس. pic.twitter.com/3rGcDmJ4at
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 15, 2026
Residents told the Haaretz daily that when IDF troops arrived shortly thereafter, they restricted the Palestinian workers’ movement, making the repairs impossible.
According to WAFA, troops detained three of the municipal workers. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.
Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.
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A Palestinian nurse, Muhammad al-Mutawwar, was reportedly paralyzed for life after being shot in the back by settlers in Sa’ir, near Hebron, on Friday evening. The Palestinian Nursing and Midwifery Association stated this was “not a passing or individual incident, but the continuation of ongoing attacks on our Palestinian people, and on healthcare workers in particular.” Another woman was also injured in the same incident. Separately, five Palestinians were injured in a settler attack in Umm al-Khair, and a 16-year-old boy was beaten by settlers near Tubas. In Qusra, settlers attacked a Palestinian Authority crew attempting to repair damaged utilities, leading to the reported arrest of three workers by Israeli forces, despite an ongoing siege on two family homes in the village.
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