Occupied West Bank: Israeli settlers ramp up violence

An escalating wave of Israeli settler violence has led to assaults on Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, according to the Middle East Eye and agencies on October 29th.

The latest campaign of violence and intimidation included attacks against Palestinian olive pickers on October 28th; residents of Atara, a town north of Ramallah, found two vehicles torched, along with racist graffiti on a building, on October 29th.

The mayor, Nizar Moghrabi, said: “We don’t know how many settlers there were or where they came from, but they managed to reach homes in the village and burn the vehicles.”

Israeli settlers reportedly established an outpost in Atara in August 2024, where they have placed mobile homes. Since then, they have carried out several attacks on Palestinian homes.

Moghrabi added: “We don’t know if the Israeli army was aware of the attack, but even if it was, it’s the same army that protects them.”

Israeli authorities do little to protect Palestinians from settlers, and are accused of facilitating the violence. Some settlers previously received illegally distributed weapons licenses from the National Security Ministry, which is led by far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Some of the attacks against Palestinians have been fatal, including on October 19th, when 42-year-old Majed Mohammad Dawoud was killed during a raid on the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus. Witnesses said that Israeli forces prevented medical teams from reaching Dawoud before soldiers dragged his body through the streets as he bled to death.

In 2023, prior to the October 7th attacks, at least 135 Palestinians were killed by Israeli violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Since October 2023, over 19,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been detained by Israeli forces.

It is estimated that over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the Occupied West Bank. When combined with the number of settlers in Occupied East Jerusalem, more than 700,000 Israelis live in roughly 160 illegal settlements across the Occupied Palestinian territories.

The number is expected to grow, as on September 3rd, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to annex 82% of the West Bank. The annexation is part of the “E1” project, which aims to build over 3,400 new homes for settlers; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed off he plan, as reported on September 15th.

In an effort to force out Palestinians from the land, settlers have reportedly targeted water supplies through the sabotage of water pipes, wells and distribution areas. Settlers also took over the computer system that sent water to Palestinian villages, essentially cutting off all access to clean water.

According to the UN, the displacement of Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank has reached its highest levels since 1967, when Israel captured the territory after the Six-Day War, which also led to the capture of East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Syrian Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights was formally annexed from Syria by Israel in 1981, a move that was recognised as legitimate by the US in 2019.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org