Two activists from the left-wing Israeli group Looking the Occupation in the Eyes were hospitalized with serious head wounds on Friday after settlers beat them in the Palestinian village of Qusra, near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the group said.

The wounded activists were airlifted to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva in moderate condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.

In addition, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated two “foreign solidarity activists” who were severely beaten by settlers. The Red Crescent identified the activists as a 51-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman.

Israeli troops and police officers were later dispatched to Qusra. The IDF said the forces were scanning the area for the assailants, and that an investigation has been launched at the police’s Ariel station.

“This is a grave incident. The IDF and the Israel Police strongly condemn incidents of violence of this kind and will continue to act to maintain the security of the residents and order in the area,” the army added.

President Isaac Herzog also condemned the attack, writing on X that “such violence is life-threatening, crosses a bright red line and stands in complete opposition to the values and laws of the State of Israel and the values of Judaism.”

“This serious incident joins a number of harsh and illegitimate recent incidents that, first and foremost, harm the settlement movement and the reputation of the State of Israel,” he said.

According to Looking the Occupation in the Eyes, some 15-20 armed settlers took part in the attack, which targeted both Israeli activists and local Palestinians.

Footage filmed by one Israeli activist showed at least three masked people wielding clubs pulling up in a small ATV. Threads of tzitzit, a Jewish ritual undergarment, can be seen hanging from under a dark hoodie worn by one of the assailants as they get out of the vehicle. The attackers then swing their clubs at the person filming, who yells in pain and pleads with the assailants to stop.

מתנחלים אינם מגשימי הציונות וגואלי הארץ. הם אינם נערים מסכנים מבתים הרוסים. הם אנשים אלימים, עבריינים, גזענים, שאין להם שום עכבות לתקוף באלימות ובאכזריות, בגיבוי המדינה ובעודם מגיעים בטרקטורון שסיפק סמוטריץ', פלסטינים ופעילי זכויות אדם לא חמושים.אלה לא עימותים. זהו לינץ'. pic.twitter.com/aC8rtdcfJ9 — מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) February 27, 2026

מתנחלים אינם מגשימי הציונות וגואלי הארץ. הם אינם נערים מסכנים מבתים הרוסים. הם אנשים אלימים, עבריינים, גזענים, שאין להם שום עכבות לתקוף באלימות ובאכזריות, בגיבוי המדינה ובעודם מגיעים בטרקטורון שסיפק סמוטריץ', פלסטינים ופעילי זכויות אדם לא חמושים.אלה לא עימותים. זהו לינץ'. pic.twitter.com/aC8rtdcfJ9

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) February 27, 2026

Separate footage filmed by a Palestinian showed a woman lying face down on the ground, apparently unconscious. A person could be heard saying, in Arabic, “They killed her.” However, MDA said both wounded activists were conscious when they arrived at Beilinson.

Looking the Occupation in the Eyes, one of several Israeli groups that perform “protective presence” in Palestinian communities, accused the government of supporting such attacks and claimed the vehicle used by the attackers was provided by far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“Settlers are not the fulfillers of Zionism and redeemers of the land. They aren’t poor boys from broken homes,” the group said on X, paraphrasing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s description of Jews who attack Palestinians in the West Bank.

“They are violent, criminal racists, with no scruples about carrying out cruel and violent attacks — with the backing of the state, in an ATV provided by Smotrich — against Palestinians and unarmed human rights activists,” the group said.

#شاهد| فيديو يوثق اعتداء المستوطنين على متضامنة أجنبية وإصابتها بجراح خلال فعالية تضامنية في بلدة قصرة جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/9gPPO8PjTU — وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) February 27, 2026

#شاهد| فيديو يوثق اعتداء المستوطنين على متضامنة أجنبية وإصابتها بجراح خلال فعالية تضامنية في بلدة قصرة جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/9gPPO8PjTU

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) February 27, 2026

Settler attacks on both Palestinians and Israeli activists have spiked since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Data published by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency last month showed a 27 percent rise in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the previous year. In addition to the overall rise in settler attacks, in 2025 there was also an increase in the number of severe incidents, including shootings, arson and other violent crimes: 128 in the past year, compared with 83 in 2024 and 54 in 2023, according to the data.

The attacks, which occur on a near-daily basis, largely go unchecked. Prosecutions of Jewish extremists are rare, and convictions are even rarer. Critics have accused the government, described as the most hardline in Israel’s history, of shrugging off the attacks.

Last week, a Palestinian-American teenager was shot dead during a settler attack in the central West Bank’s Mukhmas. Police reportedly launched an investigation into the incident only on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the High Court of Justice on Thursday issued a conditional order against two senior IDF officers demanding they explain their failure to protect a group of Palestinian farmers in the Jordan Valley from harassment and violence by settlers.

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