On average, four incidents of settler violence have occurred every day in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
Earlier this week, amid recurring violence, dozens of Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli soldiers, set fire to several vehicles and properties, injuring at least 21 Palestinians.
As global attention focused on Israel’s brutal military offensive in Gaza, attacks on settlers as well as deadly raids by Israeli forces have intensified in the occupied West Bank over the past 15 months.
From October 7, 2023 to December 31, 2024, at least 1,860 incidents of settler violence in the occupied West Bank were recorded – an average of four per day according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
With 411 incidents, Nablus governorate saw the highest number of settler attacks, followed by 410 incidents in Ramallah and 362 in Hebron.
Who are the Israeli settlers?
The settlers are Israeli citizens living in exclusively Jewish communities, known as Israeli settlements, built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967.
Benjamin Netanyahu – Israel’s longest-serving prime minister – has supported settlement expansion since coming to power in 1996, undermining the 1993 Oslo Accords, which called for a settlement freeze and a mutually negotiated two-way solution. States.
Today, about 10 percent of Israel’s Jewish population, a total of 600,000 to 750,000 people, live in about 250 settlements and outposts scattered across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Many of these settlements are located near Palestinian population centers, often leading to increased tensions and restrictions on movement for Palestinians.
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law because they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its population to the area it occupies. This is for a variety of reasons, including protecting civilians against the theft of resources by the occupying power and preventing changes in the demographic composition of the occupied territory.
Trump lifts sanctions against violent settlers
One of Donald Trump’s first actions as president was to lift sanctions targeting many far-right settler organizations and individuals involved in violent actions against Palestinians, including arson, property damage and attacks against civilians.
These sanctions were imposed by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, via an executive order in February 2024.
During his first term, Trump championed many of Israel’s key policies, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital, supporting settlement expansion, cutting aid to the Palestinians, and negotiating the peace accords. ‘Abraham aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab countries, without Palestinian involvement.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine has expressed concern over the “renewed wave of violence” perpetrated by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank.
At least 870 Palestinians killed
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 870 Palestinians, including 177 children, have been killed and more than 6,700 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers across the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
At least 13,500 Palestinians, including children, have been arrested and more than 2,100 structures demolished in the occupied West Bank, displacing more than 6,700 people.
