Searching for the suspect, the army put a curfew on the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, where residents say soldiers destroyed property in their homes, threw stones at cars and confiscated cars. ‘If they commit a terror attack, they will pay a heavy price,’ the IDF Central Command chief say
Hagar Shezaf. Aug 22, 2025
The army says it has uprooted 3,100 trees in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir after a shooting attack Thursday near the unauthorized Israeli settlement outpost of Adei Ad in which a civilian suffered minor wounds.
The army said the action was part of its search for the assailant, who fled. He was later apprehended, according to a joint statement issued by the IDF, Shin Bet security service and Israel Police.’
Central Command chief Avi Bluth said at a situation assessment near the scene of the shooting that all West Bank villages should “know that if they commit a terror attack, they will pay a heavy price, and they will experience a curfew and siege.”
The army added in a statement that its forces encircled the village on Friday as part of their search for the shooter.
Villagers said that in addition to uprooting trees, the soldiers threw stones at cars and confiscated cars, while also entering homes, conducting searches and destroying property there.
Villagers filmed IDF earth-moving equipment uprooting trees between the village and the main road. They said some of the trees were decades-old olive trees.
One resident added that soldiers had seized two legally owned cars. When he tried to explain that the vehicles were legally owned, the soldiers ignored him.
“There’s no house they didn’t enter. Half an hour ago they left my house after they wrecked it,” the resident said, adding that as part of the curfew, the soldiers weren’t allowing villagers to open their stores. He said soldiers arrested 10 villagers, among them a former prisoner who had been released in one of the deals to release Israelis being held hostage in Gaza.
Bluth added that the army was engaging in “shaping actions” designed “to deter everyone, not only this village but every villagethat tries to raise a hand against any of the residents. The village carries out an attack, no problem. You want a spotlight on you, we know how to turn on a spotlight.”
The army added that efforts at locating the shooter included “uncovering vegetation, arresting suspects and searches.”
The actions Bluth described as “shaping” are part of his policy of converting Palestinian land into areas for military use. Besides uprooting trees in al-Mughayyir, the army has demolished homes in the Tulkarm, Nur al-Shams and Jenin refugee camps. The stated goal is to create wide roads that will allow the army access.
The IDF took similar steps in the village of Bruchin after Tzeela Gez and the baby she was carrying were shot dead by a Palestinian gunman in May. After that attack on the car in which Gez was riding, the army demolished homes and seized agricultural land.
After the January shooting attack on a bus and two cars in al-Funduq in which three Israelis were killed, Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank began demolishing illegal homes in the village.