Israeli Settlers Massacre 117 Sheep in Northern West Bank, Palestinian Official Says
Act of organized violence condemned as “terrorism” targeting Palestinian livelihoods in the Jordan Valley
Watan-A Palestinian local official reported Friday that Israeli settlers carried out a massacre, killing 117 sheep in the northern Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank.
Mahdi Daraghmeh, head of the Northern Jordan Valley Council, said in a statement that “Israeli settlers surrounded a flock of sheep in the Shaq area of the northern Jordan Valley at dawn on Friday, and killed 117 sheep using knives and live bullets.”
Daraghmeh described the incident as a “criminal act and organized terrorism aimed at eradicating the Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley,” noting that the settlers had trapped the animals overnight until Friday morning before slaughtering them.
He added that some local residents later managed to retrieve part of the herd after the settlers fled the scene, stressing that the attack was a direct assault on entire Palestinian families who rely on livestock for survival.
بالرصاص والسكاكين.. مستوطنون يقتلون أغنام خلال هجوم على منطقة الشك في الأغوار الشمالية pic.twitter.com/EXWc1CCrDE
— فضائية النجاح – An-Najah Nbc (@newsnajah) July 18, 2025
This incident occurs amid a broader escalation of violence. Since October 7, 2023, Israel — backed by the United States — has waged a military campaign in Gaza that Palestinian officials and international experts describe as genocide, killing and injuring over 198,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women. Over 10,000 remain missing, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced or face starvation.
In parallel, settler and army violence has surged across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. According to Palestinian sources, at least 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and about 7,000 injured in the West Bank since the war began.
