5 days ago
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israeli Settlers Escalate West Bank Attacks
DaysofPal- The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and armed Israeli settlers have intensified violent assaults across the occupied West Bank, leaving a growing number of Palestinians killed, injured, or displaced in a campaign that rights groups warn amounts to a coordinated strategy of terror and forced displacement.
According to the Palestinian Authority's Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, at least 30 Palestinians were arrested overnight during military raids in multiple areas, including Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Salfit, and Tulkarem.
Among those detained were a female journalist, two women, and several former prisoners.
But arrests are only part of a broader, more violent campaign. Settler attacks have surged in recent days, often occurring under the protection or escort of Israeli military units. The result has been deadly.
In Susiya, south of Hebron, settlers raided the village at night, injuring five people and setting fire to homes and agricultural land.
Moreover, in Khirbet al-Tawil near Nablus, eight Palestinians, including a child, were injured during a similar settler assault.
In the village of Al-Mughayir, east of Ramallah, six Palestinians were shot and killed by settlers and soldiers during a coordinated attack that targeted homes and farmland, forcing dozens of families to flee.
In Umm al-Khair, the internationally known Palestinian activist Odeh Hathaleen, featured in an Oscar-winning documentary, was killed by a settler identified as Yinon Levy, who was later released by Israeli authorities without charges
The killing has sparked outrage among Palestinians and international observers.
Elsewhere in the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, Palestinian-American Seifullah Maslat was beaten to death by settlers during an attack that also claimed the life of another resident.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported a 30% rise in settler violence in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Human rights organizations accuse the Israeli government of enabling such violence and failing to protect Palestinian civilians.
'These attacks are not isolated, they are part of a growing pattern of lawlessness, where settler militias act with impunity under the cover of the Israeli army.' said one international rights monitor.
With more than 18,500 Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 2023, and settler violence spreading to rural and urban areas alike, observers warn that a new humanitarian disaster is unfolding, one that echoes the devastation in Gaza.
Local officials and rights groups are calling on the international community, including the United Nations and the EU, to pressure the Israeli occupation to halt settler violence, end arbitrary arrests, and protect Palestinian civilians from what they describe as an 'undeclared war.'
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