Israeli reservist under house arrest after running over Palestinian man in West Bank
reuters footage west bank man praying, run over by Israeli reservist
An Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in the occupied West Bank on December 26, after earlier firing shots in the area, the Israeli military said.
"Footage was received of an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual," it said in a statement, adding the individual was a reservist and his military service had been terminated.
The video, which aired on Palestinian TV and was verified by Reuters, shows a man in civilian clothing with a gun slung over his shoulder driving an off-road vehicle into a man praying on the side of the road.
The reservist acted "in severe violation of his authority," and his weapon had been confiscated, the military said.
Israeli media reported that he was being held under house arrest.
The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Palestinian man went to the hospital for checks after the attack, but was unhurt and is now at home.
Read: Israel’s security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank
This year was one of the most violent on record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to United Nations data that shows more than 750 injuries.
More than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 7, 2023 and October 17, 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, according to the UN. In the same period, 57 Israelis have been killed.
Israel’s security cabinet approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on December 22, a move, the country’s far-right finance minister said on Sunday, aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The latest approvals come days after the UN said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are considered illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.