MEDIA DIGEST: Chicago Muslim, Jewish, & Christian Teens Unite to Stop Israeli Settler Attacks on Palestinian Village, Almughayyir
On Sept. 30, 2026, CAIR-Chicago hosted a press conference bringing together Palestinian, Jewish and Christian teens who are uniting to call attention to escalating Israeli settler and military attacks on the Palestinian village of Almughayyir in the occupied West Bank.
Just this week, settlers set fire to the car belonging to the grandfather of one of the participating Palestinian teens, as well as a neighbor’s car, according to the family. The aftermath was captured on camera, and the family reports that no arrests have been made.
Twelve miles north, teens in Oak Park heard the call and are answering with outreach to legislators, artwork, and educational events to protect this tiny Palestinian village. These Jewish and Christian teens are uniting with affected South Side Palestinian teens to do everything they can to stop Israeli settler attacks on Almughayyir.
Speakers included:
Malak, a 17-year-old Palestinian teen originally from Almughayyir, will share pictures and stories of her 16-year-old and 14-year-old cousins, both of whom she says were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers. The family has video of one of the shootings near a school and says no arrests have been made.
Enas, a 14-year-old Palestinian teen, says she worries constantly about her grandparents. Israeli soldiers invaded their home, beat her uncle and ransacked the house, according to the family.
Younis, a 14-year-old Palestinian teen, says his family has video showing Israeli settlers burning down their greenhouses in the village.
Miriam, a Jewish teen, along with Christian teen, Cheslyn, who are members of a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) club, heard the Palestinian teens’ stories and decided to act. These Oak Park teens are now organizing friends, classmates and community members to try to stop the attacks. The teens are reaching out to members of Congress, creating artwork and organizing educational events to protect Almughayyir.
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS
17-year-old Malak said, "My family has lived in the same Palestinian village, Almughayer, for hundreds of years. But for the past few years, my village has been attacked almost every single day by Israeli settlers and soldiers- and it’s almost always caught on camera.
Two nights ago we got emergency messages from our family that Israeli settlers were setting fires to cars and homes."
14-year-old Enas said, "I’m just here to say I want my grandparents to be safe. Today the Israeli army tear-gassed my grandfather, and he’s 84 years old. And I worry about him.
The Israeli army destroyed their home. They have a beautiful house in the village. But Israeli soldiers went into their house and destroyed it. They ransacked it.
And the only reason they’re not safe is because they’re Palestinian."
14-year-old Younis said, "Now my cousins are too afraid to go to school, or even go outside to play because the Israeli settlers and army keep attacking.
I’m not afraid to go to school. And Palestinian kids in my village shouldn’t be afraid to go to school. I wish Congress would do something to keep kids in Palestine safe."
Teen Cheslyn said, "I would like to call on our congressional members, La Shawn Ford and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, to stand for the people of Almughayyir and stop funding the Israeli military and end the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people."
Another teen, Miriam, said, "I am Jewish- it is not antisemitic to be against this apartheid state. The laws that prioritize and protect Jewish Israelis over Palestinians are meant to be systematically oppressive. Judaism does not demand that Palestinians are abused in a land that has belonged to them for thousands of years"
PHOTO GALLERY
BACKGROUND: A SMALL VILLAGE FACING REPEATED ATTACKS
Almughayyir is a Palestinian village of nearly 4,000 people northeast of Ramallah, many of them farmers and shepherds. These teens say their families trace their roots back to this West Bank village for at least 500 years.
The village sits along the eastern side of the Ramallah governorate, near the Allon Road corridor, and has become increasingly surrounded by Israeli settlement outposts. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Almughayyir is now surrounded by eight settlement outposts, five established since mid-2024, while its main eastern entrance has remained closed by Israeli forces since 2023.
These teens’ family members say they are now afraid to drive, afraid to go to school and afraid to go to work because of attacks on Palestinian drivers using the main road. Families also report growing difficulty bringing food and other supplies into the village as drivers fear entering and access routes remain restricted.
They describe Israeli forces entering homes, ransacking belongings and firing tear gas into residential areas. In one incident reported by the teens’ family, a one-year-old baby struggled to breathe after tear gas entered a home. In a recent video report, Israeli settlers were caught on camera entering Almughayyir, smashing Palestinian cars and throwing rocks while Israeli security forces looked on. No arrests were reported.
The accounts come amid a documented sharp rise in attacks. The United Nations reported in September that more than 56 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage had been documented in Almughayyir since January 2026—more than double the village’s previous monthly average.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reports that dozens of Palestinian communities across the West Bank have been displaced amid settler violence and Israeli military activity. The organization has also documented attacks in and around Almughayyir, including attacks on Palestinian farmers, livestock theft and restrictions on access to agricultural land.
The crisis also comes amid sweeping new movement restrictions across the occupied West Bank. Since September 27, Israeli forces have closed or heavily restricted checkpoints and entrances across the West Bank, leaving thousands of Palestinians stranded for hours and disrupting access to work, school and medical care. Almughayyir was already heavily restricted before the latest closures, with its main eastern entrance closed by Israeli forces since 2023.
Chicago families with loved ones in Almughayyir have been sounding the alarm for months. At a CAIR-Chicago press conference earlier this year, local families called for help protecting loved ones in Almughayyir and other Palestinian communities facing settler violence, home destruction and displacement.
Now, Chicago teenagers with direct family ties to Almughayyir are telling their own stories—and Muslim, Jewish and Christian teens are standing together to make sure their friends and families in this small Palestinian village are not ignored.