A Palestinian-owned dog that was brutally beaten by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank on Friday is now recovering and being treated for severe wounds.
The Israeli settler was captured in video footage brutally clubbing the dog, named Lucy, several times in the occupied West Bank . Lucy suffered severe injuries and has since been taken for emergency treatment.
The harrowing footage clearly shows the settler, who has not yet been named, repeatedly targeting the dog in the head at the family's home in the village of Atara , north of Ramallah.
The owner said the dog was tied up and presented no threat to the settler. "She wasn't loose, she didn't attack him or bite him," he told Haaretz , requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal. "He attacked a tied-up dog."
The footage has sparked criticism online, with many denouncing the actions of Israeli settlers, and calling on them to be held accountable for animal cruelty as well as damage to nature and agriculture. Residents of Atara have been repeatedly targeted by extremist settlers, who last year established an illegal outpost on a nearby hill.
Update: 🐕 "Lucy" survived the brutal attack carried out by a terrorist Israeli colonist yesterday in the occupied West Bank and is now receiving care and love from Palestinian veterinarians 🩺❤️🩹
A small sign of hope after an act of shocking cruelty. https://t.co/qguL0OnXw0 pic.twitter.com/cq8YYLt37u — PM of Palestine (@PalestinePMO) May 16, 2026 Palestinian homes and vehicles were set ablaze in the town in August amid surging settler terrorism across the territory. Residents of a nearby Bedouin community have been forcibly displaced by constant harassment.
"Lucy was in a very miserable condition. There was severe bleeding from her eyes, and her head was literally crushed," Maryana Abodoly, who took her to receive treatment, told the Israeli news outlet. "She was almost unconscious. She couldn't stand or move at all."
The owner said the Israeli checkpoint outside the village blocked him from taking her for treatment, forcing him to take an alternative route. Lucy was later taken to an animal hospital in Israel for treatment.
She has since begun to make a recovery and is now eating and drinking, Haaretz said.
Abodoly said she frequently receives reports of Israeli settlers attacking animals, though many are never documented.
"I constantly receive reports about animals being beaten by settlers," she said. "Not everything is documented, and even when it is documented, unfortunately not much always happens."