Israeli Settlers Escalate West Bank Attacks Under Army Protection as UN Reports 60 Assaults in a Week
Occupied West Bank (QNN)- Israeli settlers launched new attacks on Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank on Friday. The assaults took place under the protection of Israeli forces, according to local and UN sources.
Dozens of settlers from the illegal settlement in Susiya village stormed a nearby Palestinian village and threw stones at homes. Residents confronted the colonizers, forcing them to retreat toward the settlement. Minutes later, Israeli police raided the village instead of the assailants.
In another incident, a settler expelled an elderly Palestinian farmer from his land in the South Hebron Hills area of Masafer Yatta. The settler brought livestock that destroyed parts of the farmland and prevented the man from harvesting his olive trees.
Elsewhere, settlers set fire to two Palestinian vehicles in the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah. Similar attacks were reported near the area of al-Lada’in between the villages of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, and Beit Lid, east of Tulkarm. Locals tried to repel the assaults but were met with Israeli soldiers who arrived to protect the settlers.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented 60 settler attacks across the West Bank over the past week. The agency said this year’s olive harvest has seen the highest level of destruction in years. It confirmed that settler assaults on farmers injured at least 17 Palestinians.
As Israel’s genocidal war continues in Gaza, the army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank. The wave of attacks has killed 1,062 Palestinians and injured around 10,000 others since October 2023. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been kidnapped, including 1,600 children.
Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 8, 2023. The assault continued for two years, killing more than 68,000 Palestinians and injuring over 170,000. A ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, 2025, after massive international pressure.
