DaysofPal- Israeli occupation forces and settlers carried out 2,350 attacks across the occupied West Bank in October, according to a new report released by the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC).
The commission warned that the wave of assaults represents an escalating “cycle of terror” coinciding with Israeli plans to approve nearly 2,000 new settlement units in a systematic campaign of dispossession and ethnic cleansing.
According to CRRC head Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, Israeli forces were responsible for 1,584 of the attacks, which included home demolitions, violent raids, assaults on civilians, and the destruction of agricultural land.
The report highlighted that most of the violence was concentrated in Ramallah (542 incidents), Nablus (412), and Hebron (401) governorates.
The report also documented 766 settler attacks, ranging from arson and vandalism to land seizures and physical assaults on Palestinian civilians and farmers.
Sha’ban said the violence reflects an “organized colonial policy” aimed at driving Palestinians off their land and consolidating a “fully racist apartheid regime” across the occupied territories.
The CRRC’s findings reveal that settler attacks have reached record levels this year, particularly targeting olive farmers during the harvest season.
Settlers, often accompanied by Israeli soldiers, reportedly uprooted, burned, or poisoned more than 1,200 olive trees in Hebron, Ramallah, Tubas, Qalqilya, Nablus, and Bethlehem.
The report further noted that settlers have established or attempted to establish seven new outposts on Palestinian land since October, primarily in Hebron and Nablus.
Olive trees, a cornerstone of Palestinian livelihood and a national symbol of resilience, have long been targeted by Israeli forces and settlers as part of efforts to seize land and undermine rural communities.
The surge in settler and army violence comes as Israel’s Higher Planning Council (HPC), part of the army’s Civil Administration in the occupied West Bank, is set to meet this week to approve the construction of 1,985 new settlement units.
The Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said that 1,288 of these units are planned for isolated northern West Bank settlements, including Avnei Hefetz and Einav Plan. The group warned that the HPC has been meeting weekly since late 2024, accelerating settlement approvals to “normalize the occupation.”
Since the start of 2025, the HPC has approved or advanced a record 28,195 housing units, marking one of the fastest paces of settlement expansion in decades.
In August, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich drew international condemnation after asserting that new settlement plans in the E1 corridor, which would link East Jerusalem with the large settlement of Maale Adumim, would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The controversial E1 project, shelved for years under international pressure, would effectively bisect the West Bank and make a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
While U.S. Vice President JD Vance recently stated that Washington opposes any formal annexation of the West Bank, Palestinian officials and rights organizations have accused the U.S. of failing to curb the Israeli violations on the ground.
“The U.S. speaks of peace in Gaza while turning a blind eye to Israel’s terror in the West Bank,” the CRRC said in a statement.
Palestinian leaders have warned that the escalating Israeli violence and rapid settlement expansion could trigger a wider uprising across the occupied territories.
“The Israeli occupation and its settlers are working hand-in-hand to erase Palestinian presence,” said Sha’ban, noting that “This is not random violence, it’s a calculated campaign of land theft, forced displacement, and permanent apartheid.”
As the Israeli Higher Planning Council convenes to approve another round of settlement construction, Palestinians say the international community’s silence is enabling the Israeli occupation to entrench its control, cementing a one-state reality built on occupation, segregation, and displacement.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=69093
