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The internet was shaken this week after footage emerged of an Israeli settler — a reservist in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) — running over a Palestinian man who was offering prayers on the side of the road in the occupied West Bank.

A clip of the incident showed the Israeli man driving an ATV towards his target before deliberately hitting him and knocking him off his prayer mat. The victim is pictured getting up, dusting himself off and proceeding to go and talk to one of the drivers who had witnessed the event.

The reservist was armed and the video showed his service-issued assault rifle slung across his back. The Israeli military said it had confiscated the weapon and placed him under house arrest.

Users on X were horrified — but definitely not surprised — that such a crime could occur. Many viewed this as a reflection of the principles of Israeli society.

Netizens said this was the face of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Many used the term “baby-killers,” a title given following the deaths of many, many Palestinian children from malnutrition, hypothermia and military actions during Israel’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip. A 2025 report from Save the Children said, on average, Israeli actions killed one child per hour during the war.

Palestinian users who had spent time in the West Bank shared their own horror stories from the area, highlighting that this wasn’t an isolated act of violence.

The grim reality is that violence in Palestine continues despite the ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza — where sporadic attacks continue to claim Palestinian lives.

Aside from the violence, rain, flooding and harsh winters pose a threat to Gazans who have been forced into squalid camps after the IDF levelled their homes.

Attacks like this one by settlers also continue unabated in the West Bank. Just this week, an armed group struck a Palestinian home and injured a baby girl. While the five group members were arrested, such incidents aren’t uncommon.