Increased Israeli Attacks in the West Bank
Featured image: Mosque burned by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra. Source: Leo Correa/AP Photo
In the West Bank, a sharp rise in settler violence has been met by local resistance, as clashes near settlement outposts spread into nearby Palestinian villages. The intensified Israeli control of the movement of Palestinians – through checkpoints, roadblocks, and gate closures, acts as a choke hold.
After the battle in Tell, near Nablus, Israel has retaliated, carrying out armed attacks, demolitions of homes, road closures, arson, revocation of permits, and the acceleration of the “regularization” of the illegal settler farms and outposts, forming eight new outposts across the West Bank. Israeli authorities have also issued new orders of land seizures. We recently reported on the Palestinian resistance in Tell:
These Israeli retaliations adds to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission’s count 42 new illegal outposts built across the occupied West Bank in the first half of 2026.
The retaliation included Israeli settlers making two separate attacks on mosques Al-Rahma in Qusra, near Nablus, and one near Tulkarem in the village of Kour on Sunday, causing significant damage, including vandalizing them with graffiti.
Multiple Palestinians, including small children, have faced increased violence and limitation on movement in the West Bank. One example came only yesterday when a pregnant Palestinian lost her child as the ambulance transporting her to the hospital was held at an Israeli checkpoint and forced to shut down vital medical equipment.
In addition the Israeli forces have carried out a wave of raids, detaining and arresting at least 70 Palestinians only on Saturday. The largest raid concentrated in Tell, where around 40 Palestinians were arrested. Raids were also reported across Jenin, Tubas, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Jericho, and several surrounding towns and refugee camps.
Since October 2023, violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased: around 1,291 settler attacks were recorded in 2023, rising to 1,449 in 2024, 1,835 in 2025 and 761 in the first four months of 2026. That equates to an average of 190 attacks per month in 2026, up from 153 per month in 2025 which is a 24% increase in the monthly rate.
