Misbar Documents Settler-Arson Attack on Mountainous Area in Taybeh, West Bank

On the evening of June 9, Israeli settlers set fire to a mountainous area containing agricultural land in the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

According to Taybeh Mayor Suleiman Khoury, settlers attacked land belonging to the town and ignited fires in a mountainous area, resulting in extensive damage to cultivated fields.

Khoury said that gunfire heard in the vicinity following the attack prevented residents from advancing toward the area or reaching the site to extinguish the flames. He added that the settlers remained at the scene until Israeli army and police forces arrived.

Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of the Latin Church in Taybeh, also reported that settlers opened fire and surrounded residents who attempted to transport a water tanker to the area to put out the blaze.

For his part, Nidal Al-Ezza, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, said Israeli forces initially prevented firefighting crews from accessing the area. He noted that emergency teams eventually managed to reach and extinguish the fire despite continued attempts by settlers to obstruct their efforts.

Taybeh holds particular significance as one of the few remaining Christian towns in the West Bank. In recent months, however, it has faced a notable increase in settler attacks. The town is surrounded by a network of Israeli settlements and pastoral outposts that have increasingly served as launch points for repeated attacks targeting Palestinian farmland and property.

In this report, Misbar’s team at Al Araby TV uses open-source intelligence tools to document the attack on Taybeh and its aftermath.

Details of the Attack on Taybeh

Footage circulated on social media showed a large fire engulfing extensive agricultural areas in Taybeh during the night. The videos capture flames spreading across the mountainous terrain alongside thick clouds of smoke.

Geolocating the Footage

By analyzing visual elements visible in the footage, including residential building layouts and the distribution of surrounding trees, Misbar identified the location from which one of the videos was recorded using Google Maps.

The footage was filmed from the main road in Taybeh’s southeastern neighborhood, overlooking the mountain where settlers allegedly set the fire, at the following coordinates: 31.950721826298572, 35.30227374111455

Using Google Earth’s distance-measurement tool, Misbar determined that the distance between the filming location and the mountain was approximately 450 meters.

NASA FIRMS Detects the Fire

Misbar also tracked the fire using the NASA FIRMS thermal monitoring system.

Satellite data showed that a sensor aboard a NASA satellite detected an active thermal hotspot with a brightness value of 303.99 Kelvin in the eastern sector of Taybeh.

According to the data, the satellite recorded the fire signal at 9:04 p.m. local time on June 9.

The timing and location of the thermal detection correspond with reports that settlers had set fires and attacked the town that evening.

Satellite Images Document the Damage

Analysis conducted by Misbar using imagery captured by the Sentinel-2 satellite revealed extensive damage across the mountainous area east of Taybeh.

Images taken after the incident show a clear change in the mountain’s coloration, with large sections appearing darkened as a result of the fire.

Using Sentinel’s measurement tools, Misbar estimated the burned area at approximately 0.05 square kilometers, equivalent to around 50 dunams.

Rising Settler Violence in the West Bank

The repeated attacks on Taybeh form part of a broader escalation carried out by Israeli forces and settlers across the occupied West Bank.

According to a report issued by the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, 1,659 attacks were recorded in May alone, including 551 attacks carried out by settlers. The governorates of Ramallah and Hebron recorded the highest numbers, with 319 incidents each.

These violations include live-fire attacks, physical assaults, uprooting trees, burning agricultural land, preventing Palestinians from accessing their property, confiscating possessions, and demolishing structures.

In the same context, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented at least 49 settler attacks during June. This brought the total number of recorded attacks since the beginning of the year to more than 1,000 incidents affecting 230 Palestinian communities, averaging roughly six attacks per day.

According to the latest figures released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 16 Palestinians have been killed by settler gunfire in the West Bank since the beginning of the year. The youngest victim was 13 years old, while the oldest was 60.

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