Israeli settlers escalate attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank

Israeli settlers have carried out several assaults against Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank over the past week, in a major escalation of settler violence in Palestinian villages. 

Fares Kaabneh told Middle East Eye that settlers attacked the area where he lives near the village of al-Taybeh, east of Ramallah, on Wednesday morning.

Settlers broke into two of their family homes, beat his father and uncle, smashed the windows and stole money and gold.

The escalation of attacks comes in conjunction with statements by Israeli officials about the necessity of completing the plan to annex the West Bank during this year.

Palestinians believe the settlers are motivated by the Israeli government to carry out these attacks, especially in Area C, in order to expel its residents and facilitate its annexation to settlements, including outposts established during the past year.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B and C. Area C territory comprises 60 percent of the West Bank and is fully controlled by the Israeli military. Almost all Israeli settlements are located in area C.

The area around al-Taybeh, which is located between areas B and C, has long been considered relatively quiet and is not usually subject to attacks from settlers. But settlers have turned their attention to it after they forced surrounding Bedouin communities to flee with repeated attacks.

"We became at the forefront after the displacement of the people of these Bedouin communities. We were surprised by the raid that took place with seven civilian cars on Wednesday," Kaabneh said.

'They took my father, 70, and my uncle, 55, and violently beat them. They also interrogated my cousin and tortured him'

- Fares Kaabneh, al-Taybeh

"They took my father, 70, and my uncle, 55, and violently beat them. They also interrogated my cousin and tortured him."

What was striking about the attack was that the perpetrators identified themselves as Israeli intelligence personnel, though their faces were known to the Palestinians in the area as settlers from nearby outposts. Some of them also wore Israeli army uniforms.

Israel had previously handed eviction notices to several families in the area but homeowners took legal steps and were able to freeze the demolition process.

"We are five families consisting of 40 people, 15 of whom are children. We live in stone houses and not in tents. Our fathers and grandfathers have lived here for decades," Kaabneh said.

"The intrusion was violent with the aim of intimidating us. They took off the tiles from our homes and put dirt in the engines of our cars. These cannot be seen as individual actions."

Fiercest campaign

In the past two days, several villages near the city of Nablus also witnessed violence committed by settlers.

The attacks have included smashing the windows of houses, assaulting their owners, and stealing livestock in the villages of Jalud and Juresh, while settlers burned vehicles belonging to Palestinians in Susya, south of Hebron.

In the town of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus, settlers attacked the residents of al-Fajm area on Monday morning, wounding seven people.

The mayor of Aqraba, Salah Bani Jaber, told MEE that the settlers were armed, masked and wearing Israeli army uniforms to further intimidate the residents.

"At the end of the attack, they stole 40 sheep, and informed the people that if they didn’t leave, they would repeat the attack again," he said.

Aqraba is the largest town in the West Bank. Since October 2023, it has experienced 106 settler attacks, during which three residents have been killed and dozens wounded and arrested.

During this time, Israeli authorities have ordered the confiscation 25,000 dunums (6,000 acres) of land and attempted to seize another 75,000 dunums. 

"The town is being subjected to one of the fiercest campaigns in the West Bank," said Bani Jaber. "There has been a coordinated effort between the settlers, the Israeli army, and the political leadership since the rise of the extremist far-right Israeli government three years ago.

"The aim is to displace and expel us."

In just two years, Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of Palestinians in Khirbet al-Tawil, one of Aqraba's Bedouin communities, four times, forcing residents to relocate.