Settler Violence Surges in West Bank Amid Accelerated Land Seizure Plans

Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has escalated significantly in both scale and severity, shifting from isolated incidents to organized attacks targeting Palestinian communities, land, and property. This surge coincides with accelerated settlement plans and Israeli government measures aimed at seizing more land and establishing new realities on the ground. A report by the National Bureau for Land Defense and Anti-Settlement Resistance indicates a steady increase in this violence over the past four years, marked by growing perpetrator boldness, incident frequency, geographic spread, and organizational level. This violence is increasingly integrated into broader official measures designed to pressure Palestinian communities into abandoning their land and possessions.

While data on settler violence varies between Israeli and international/human rights sources, both indicate a sharp and continuous rise in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, particularly during the last four years under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, with the involvement of ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. The violence is occurring alongside intensified settlement activities, including the establishment of civilian units by the Ministry of National Security, the enlistment of approximately 5,500 settlers into special reserve units by the Israeli military, wider arms distribution, and the provision of all-terrain vehicles used to harass Palestinian farmers and herders.

In October, the daily average of settler attacks rose to 7.4, up from approximately 5 per day last year, with a peak of 39 attacks on a single day during the olive harvest season. The most affected areas in October included southern and eastern Nablus, northeast of Ramallah, and Masafer Yatta in Hebron. Attacks have focused on villages near pastoral outposts, involving stone-throwing, agricultural sabotage, and physical assaults.

Israeli authorities have also issued military orders to seize over 26,000 dunams of land northwest of Ramallah, ostensibly to connect settlements and facilitate settler movement. Additionally, orders were issued to seize over 11,000 dunams in Jenin governorate for alleged military purposes, including the establishment of security roads and buffer zones around settlements like Ganim and Kadim. These orders pave the way for connecting infrastructure to previously evacuated settlements, aiming to isolate Palestinian villages and restrict farmer access to their lands.

Further land seizures include approximately 370 dunams east of occupied Jerusalem, designated as "state property" to establish the new "Mishmar Yehuda" settlement, and 2,536 dunams northwest of Ramallah, also classified as state land, to create a settlement ring around the "Kerem Raa'im" settlement and connect it to other settlements. These actions are reportedly overseen by Bezalel Smotrich, who has directed the declaration of Palestinian land as "state land" since taking office. Meanwhile, a new settlement, "Shalim," was inaugurated east of Nablus, becoming the ninth settlement established in the northern West Bank in less than a year, with plans for 19 more.