All articles tagged with #settlers
Israeli settlers defaced and set fire to the Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque near Nablus in the occupied West Bank during Ramadan, with graffiti denigrating the Prophet and claims of attackers fleeing after pouring fuel. The incident follows a broader surge of settler and military violence in the area, drawing UN and rights groups’ warnings about a coercive environment and potential displacement of Palestinians.
Palestinian American Nasrallah Abu Siyam, 19, was killed by Israeli settlers during an attack on a village near Ramallah in the West Bank as clashes with residents erupted; Israeli forces reportedly used riot-dispersal methods, and the incident underscores a surge in West Bank violence and international concern over accountability for settlers and ongoing settlement expansion.
Israel approved designating large areas of the occupied West Bank as state property, shifting Palestinians' burden to prove land ownership and fanning fears of de facto annexation. UN OCHA data show a record 37,135 Palestinians displaced in 2025 due to military incursions, demolitions and rising settler violence, with most displacement in Area C under full Israeli control.
Since Oct 2023, thousands of settler residents across the West Bank have been mobilized into Hagmar regional defence units, armed and often operating with little oversight, effectively creating settler militias within the IDF. They can act with near-parallel authority to regular troops, sometimes arriving before or directing regular forces, and have been linked to increased violence against Palestinians, including property destruction, intimidation, and at least one killing. The UN warns this ‘settler-soldier’ phenomenon blurs the line between state and settler violence and signals a profound shift in security dynamics. While the IDF says most reservists follow rules and some have faced investigations, hundreds of hagmar remain deployed after a peak of about 7,000 mobilized, marking a significant escalation in West Bank operations.
Palestinian Bedouin families in Ras Ein al Auja, in the southern Jordan Valley, are fleeing as Israeli settlers intensify violence and land grabs, leaving the village emptied and accelerating a wider dispossession across the West Bank, where settler control now covers substantial swaths of land previously earmarked for a future Palestinian state, with security forces providing limited protection.
The West Bank is experiencing unprecedented violence with Israeli settler militias, backed by soldiers, attacking Palestinian communities through lynch mobs, arson, and slaughter of livestock, leading to increased tensions and suffering among Palestinians.
The article discusses the ongoing violence and land dispossession in Aqraba, highlighting the role of Israeli settlers, the IDF, and the Israeli government in the conflict, with criticism of international responses and acknowledgment of journalist Gideon Levy's reporting on these issues.
A Palestinian shepherding community near Ramallah was threatened and ordered to leave by Israeli soldiers after weeks of harassment and threats from settlers, highlighting ongoing tensions and conflicts in the West Bank.
An investigation into the fire at the 1,500-year-old Church of St. George in Taybeh, West Bank, suggests that claims of extremist settlers setting the fire may be inaccurate, as evidence points to local Jewish residents fighting the flames, but the perpetrators remain unidentified.
Residents of a West Bank village were forced out after settlers established a nearby outpost, amid ongoing tensions and violence in the region, highlighting the complex and contentious Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Violence erupted in the West Bank as Israeli settlers clashed with military forces, setting fire to a security site amid rising tensions and attacks on Palestinians, with hard-right extremists involved in the confrontations.
Dozens of Israeli settlers attempted to break into a West Bank IDF base, setting fire and vandalizing a security site amid protests over the shooting of a teenager, leading to violence and widespread reactions.
Clashes in the West Bank resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians by Israeli forces, amid reports of settler violence against Palestinian villagers, including property destruction and arson, sparking international concern and debate over justice and security in the region.
Seventeen vehicles were set on fire in the Palestinian city of El Bireh, near Ramallah, by masked assailants believed to be Jewish settlers. The attackers also spray-painted "For Judea and Samaria – War" near the scene. Israeli authorities, including the police, Shin Bet, and IDF, have launched an investigation into the incident.
The once-condemned radical settler attacks on Palestinians have become increasingly routine, yet Israelis are failing to respond, normalizing the violence and failing to flinch at the lethal actions of these extremists.