OIC: Settlers launched 437 attacks in West Bank in July
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Media Observatory on Israeli Crimes Against Palestinians recorded the highest number of settler attacks on towns and villages in the West Bank in July 2025 since October 7, 2023, with 437 attacks, in addition to 165 attacks on agricultural land.
The OIC Media Observatory recorded 67 settler attacks between August 12 and 18, 2025. Settlers grazed their livestock several times on agricultural land in the village of Bardala in Tubas, the al-Auja Shalal complex in Jericho, the Masafer area of Yatta in Hebron, the village of Shufa in Tulkarm, and the Khirbet Umm al-Battam area in Bethlehem.
They set fire to agricultural land in the town of Surif in Hebron, the villages of Duma and Osarin in Nablus, the town of Hizma in Jerusalem, and the Marj Sa'i plain in Ramallah. They also bulldozed land in the plain of Turmus Ayya in Ramallah and the village of Duma in Nablus.
Settlers cut tree branches in the village of Deir Sharaf in Nablus, damaged the agricultural irrigation network, uprooted trees in Wadi Sa'ir, destroyed crops in the village of Halhul in Hebron, cut down and uprooted several trees in lands near the settlement of 'Efrat' and the area of Khirbet Umm al-Batem in Bethlehem, in the Marj plain area and the village of Kafr Malik in Ramallah, and the village of Duma in Nablus. They also damaged water tanks there, bringing the total number of attacks on agricultural lands within a week to 27.
Meanwhile, settlers attacked vegetable vendors and vandalized their goods in the northern Jordan Valley. Settlers emptied water from water tanks and cut water pipes leading to residents' tents in the Nab' Ghazal Spring area in Tubas. They burned four cars and a house in the town of Atara, and burned several cars and mobile homes in the Marj Sa'a plain area.
They stole building materials north of the town of Halhul, as well as two electrical transformers in the village of Kafr Malik. Settlers forcibly displaced a Palestinian family from the Arab al-Malihat community in Jericho.
In this context, the number of settlement activities in seven days reached 8, represented by the occupation authorities issuing tenders to build more than 4,000 settlement units, including tenders to expand the 'Ma'ale Adumim' settlement built on lands in Al-Quds Governorate, and other tenders to expand the 'Ariel' settlement in the Salfit Governorate.
The occupation forces placed mobile homes in an archaeological area near the village of Susya, while settlers paved a settlement road in the town of Tekoa in Bethlehem, and a road on lands in the village of Deir Razih.
Other settlers set up mobile homes near the village of Deir Razeh in Hebron and the village of Shufa in Tulkarm. Others raised the occupation flag on land near the town of Aqraba in Nablus with the aim of seizing it. They also seized control of a water well in the Masafer area of the town of Yatta in Hebron.
Israeli occupation forces raided cities, towns, and villages in the West Bank 373 times, arresting 144 Palestinians, including 3 children. Settlers assaulted two children, one of them five years old, in Nablus and Hebron.
Israeli occupation forces demolished 3 homes, a hut and its surrounding wall, a poultry farm in Al-Quds, and a building materials store in Ramallah. They also bulldozed land planted with olive trees in the village of Haris in Salfit. They confiscated a bulldozer, two trucks, and two cars in Jenin. Settlers seized a car in Bethlehem and destroyed several other cars in different areas of the West Bank, where two Palestinians were killed.
The number of Israeli crimes during the period from August 12 to 18, 2025, amounted to 4,008 crimes, varying in all Palestinian areas, with the most prominent crimes occurring in the Gaza Strip, where the OIC Media Observatory recorded the martyrdom of 544 Palestinians by the fire of the occupation forces, and the recovery of the bodies of 34 Palestinians from under the rubble, bringing the total number of martyrs recorded during the past week to 580 martyrs, and the total number of Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023, until August 17, 2025, to 62,975, and the wounded to 164,920.
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Mada
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Egypt Independent
11 hours ago
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Tel Aviv, Israel — Eliya Cohen is a survivor who can't yet bring himself to live again. He hid under bodies as Hamas militants hurled grenades into a bomb shelter before they took him prisoner. He lived through Eliya Cohen is a survivor who can't yet bring himself to live again. He hid under bodies as Hamas militants hurled grenades into a bomb shelter before they took him prisoner. He lived through 505 days of captivity in Gaza, chained and sharing scraps of pita and canned beans with other hostages. And he was released to his joyful family – and to find his girlfriend alive and waiting for him. But six months after he got out of Gaza, he says he cannot begin to recover. Not while other hostages are still held there. 'I feel guilty when I eat. I feel guilty when I get showered. I feel guilty when I go to the hospital,' he told CNN in an exclusive interview with Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward. 'I feel guilty because I know what they are going through right now.' He recognizes he must work to heal the physical and mental wounds, but thoughts of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza weigh on him every day, he says, brethren from a family he cannot let himself forget. Cohen was at the Nova music festival with his girlfriend Ziv Abud the morning of October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants broke through Gaza's border fence under a hail of accompanying rockets from Hamas and other groups who took part in the attack. Cohen and Abud, like many other festival goers, ran for cover. The pair hid in a concrete bomb shelter with about 30 others but were found by the attackers, who threw grenades inside. Those at the front of the bunker were killed by the explosions. An October 10, 2023, aerial photo shows the abandoned site of the attack on the Nova music festival by Hamas militants in southern Israel. Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images As more grenades were hurled, Cohen and Abud hid under the dead bodies. It was the only protection they could find. 'I talked with Ziv a lot … trying to check if she's alive or not. And she told me, 'It's OK, at least in the sky (heaven), we will be OK,'' he said. The militants stormed the shelter and fired gunshots, killing his girlfriend's nephew and partner and wounding Cohen in the leg. He was found and put on the back of a pickup truck alongside Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Or Levy, leaving Abud behind. He thought he'd never see her again. 'I was really sure that she died. There is no chance that she survived that,' Cohen recalled. Once they reached Gaza, Cohen said a Hamas militant told him the group wanted to use the hostages to come to an agreement with Israel to release Palestinians from Israeli prisons. He didn't expect to be there for more than 500 days. Held in chains, underground For most of his captivity, Cohen said he was held in a small, dark and 'abandoned' tunnel with Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Alon Ohel. Levy and Sharabi have been released; Ohel remains in captivity in Gaza. He said their legs were bound with motorcycle chains, making it difficult to go to the bathroom. He showered only once every two months and didn't brush his teeth for a year. The four hostages shared a piece of pita bread and a can of beans every day 'for a long time,' he recalled. 'For eight months, we slept on the floor … I dislocated my shoulder so many nights … we felt weak,' he added. What helped Cohen stay strong was the bond he built with other hostages, especially treasuring the relationship he formed with Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin was taking cover in the same shelter as Cohen when a grenade blew off his left arm. They were separated in Gaza and Cohen thought Goldberg-Polin probably wouldn't survive the injury. People light candles during a vigil in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem on September 1, 2024. Leo Correa/AP Two months later, they found themselves reunited in a tunnel, where they were briefly held together. Cohen instantly recognized him from his bandaged arm, and they bonded over their shared experience in the bomb shelter. Goldberg-Polin even helped Cohen learn English after he gave him a book to read. 'We were together for three days, but it felt like we were friends for 10 years,' Cohen said. Last summer, there were hopes that Goldberg-Polin would be released during the first phase of an eventual ceasefire agreement, even if it was still months away. While they were held together, Goldberg-Polin promised Cohen to tell his parents that their son was alive. It was a promise he would never be able to keep. Shortly afterwards, Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages were killed by Hamas after Israeli forces approached the tunnel they were held in. When Cohen found out in captivity, it was a shock. 'I cried a lot. I actually didn't believe it,' Cohen said. A difficult goodbye, and an unexpected reunion Cohen grew emotional describing his time in captivity, especially when referring to Ohel, the last remaining hostage he was held with. After Sharabi and Levy were released in February during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement signed in January, Cohen's captors told him he was next on the list. That meant leaving Ohel behind. 'It was a difficult situation … we hugged each other, and we started to cry,' he said, promising him he would fight for his release back in Israel. When Cohen returned home, he was shocked to discover that his girlfriend Abud had survived the bomb shelter and had herself been campaigning for his release ever since. 'I can't put into words how it felt,' he said. 'It was like a dream. For a week, it felt like a dream looking at her,' he said. One month later, Israel launched a wave of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, shattering the ceasefire and any hopes that Cohen would see Ohel soon. Cohen has found little reason for hope since then. Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand his military offensive further and occupy Gaza City. The plan provoked harsh criticism inside Israel, especially from the families of the remaining 50 hostages – some dead, some alive – in Gaza, warning the move could mean they would be lost forever. After 22 months of pounding Gaza, Israel has been facing global condemnation over its actions and the starvation of Palestinians. Cohen was only able to catch a glimpse of Gaza once when he was moved from one tunnel to another, describing it as an 'apocalypse.' He said the only way Ohel and the remaining hostages would return is through a deal, and he urged Netanyahu to go back to the negotiating table. 'I believe they can bring all the hostages home in the same way I came home.'
