Israel’s Shin Bet ‘downgrades settler assault from terror attacks to serious incidents’
Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has downgraded its classification of settler assaults against Palestinians from “terror attacks” to “serious incidents”, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11 reported on Monday.
The change, initiated about a year ago, affects how cases are prioritised, including the allocation of resources and investigative personnel, the report said.
Under the new criteria, only attacks with a “clear intent to kill” Palestinians will be classified as terrorism by the Shin Bet’s Jewish Division.
Arson attacks on buildings or unmanned vehicles - a frequent occurrence against Palestinians in towns and villages across the occupied West Bank - will now be treated as “serious incidents”.
Kan 11 reported that of 10 arson attacks carried out by masked settlers over the past month, only three were classified as terror attacks.
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The remaining seven were recorded as “serious incidents”.
The report comes amid a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Attackers are rarely detained or questioned by Israeli security forces, and in many cases, soldiers either take part in the assaults or stand by as settlers attack local communities.
Last week, dozens of settlers attacked two Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, while Israeli forces stood by.
One resident told Haaretz that as settlers injured residents, set sheep on fire and stole livestock, a soldier told a settler: “Go on, take what you want, fast.”
Data released by the Israeli army show that in 2025, there was a 25 percent rise in what it termed “Israeli-Jewish terror attacks” compared with the previous year.
According to the data, settlers carried out 845 attacks against Palestinians in 2025, killing four people and wounding around 200. In 2024, 675 attacks were recorded, resulting in six deaths and 149 injuries.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem said in November that settlers killed at least 21 Palestinians in the two years following the 7 October 2023 attacks, with none of the cases resulting in accountability.
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