Israeli reservist soldier dismissed after ramming ATV into praying Palestinian in West Bank

In a statement available to the media, the Israeli military said it had received footage showing “an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual,” adding that the suspect was a reservist whose service was terminated for acting “in severe violation of his authority.”

His weapon was confiscated following the incident.

Video footage circulating online shows the man, dressed in civilian clothes with a rifle slung over his back, driving the ATV into the Palestinian, knocking him to the ground.

The assailant is then seen shouting and gesturing at the victim to leave the area.

The Palestinian man later went to a hospital but was discharged and is now at home. His father, Majdi Abu Mokho, said his son is suffering pain in both legs following the attack.

He also alleged that the soldier used pepper spray on his son, though this is not visible in the footage.

Mokho told AFP that the assailant was a known settler who had established an outpost near their village and had previously blocked roads and provoked residents while grazing livestock.

According to The Times of Israel, the reservist was arrested on Thursday night and placed under house arrest for five days.

The outlet also reported that the same individual had earlier opened fire inside the village, an act the Israeli Defence Forces described as a “serious breach of authority.”

The incident comes amid a sharp rise in violence involving Israeli settlers in the West Bank. United Nations data shows that 2025 has been among the most violent years on record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians, with more than 750 Palestinians injured.

According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 7, 2023, and October 17, 2025, mostly during Israeli security operations, with some deaths linked to settler violence. In the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.