Conflict · West Bank · ArchiveSinjil's Unarmed Night Watch Against West Bank Settler RaidsAired August 10, 2026 at 3:05 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Just days ago in Sinjil on the edge of0:02the occupied West Bank, [music]0:04homes were set on fire and solar panels0:06were smashed with the outskirts of the0:08town taking the heaviest [music] damage.0:10The attacks are coming from a recently0:11established illegal outpost nearby. It0:14is [music] now surrounded by fences,0:15earth mounds, and gates that have closed0:17in around the village leaving the outer0:19homes most exposed. Sinjil sits in0:21so-called areas [music] B and C where0:23control is shared or fully held by the0:25Israeli military. Palestinian [music]0:27police cannot operate there without0:28coordination with the Israeli military.0:30And residents say the Israeli army and0:32police provide [music] no protection and0:34side with settlers. With no formal0:36policing at night, neighborhood0:37protection committees have formed.0:39[music] Municipal council member Baha0:41Fouqa films attacks and sends alerts0:43through social media chat groups calling0:45unarmed volunteers to gather after dark0:47[music] and try to intercept the next0:48raid before homes burn. Violence against0:51Palestinians in the occupied West Bank0:52is [music] intensifying and for the 30:54million Palestinians living there, the0:56assessment is that this is the most0:57dangerous period [music] since 1967.0:59That judgment remains an assessment, not1:01a confirmed measurement, but it frames1:03why the night watches are now constant.1:05The defense is not armed patrols, but1:07presence. [music] After an attack is1:09recorded, word spreads instantly on1:11phones. Volunteers converge on the1:13vulnerable edges and they hold those1:15lines unarmed through the night.1:22That call for outside leverage, [music]1:24economic pressure, and cooperation with1:26the European Union and the United States1:28is presented as a view about1:30responsibility and [music] possible1:31mechanisms, not as a confirmed action1:33underway. What is not yet settled is1:36whether unarmed [music] watches can hold1:37the line around Sinjil and whether that1:39leverage is exercised before the current1:41level of attack becomes the baseline.1:44This account comes from a single report1:45published August 9th [music] that has1:47not yet received broader independent1:49confirmation.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗