DaysofPal- Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have sharply escalated, with Palestinian officials and researchers describing the violence as part of a systematic policy rather than isolated incidents.
According to figures released by the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, a total of 23,827 attacks against Palestinians and their property were documented across the West Bank in 2025, the highest annual total on record.
The incidents included 16,664 attacks targeting individuals, 5,398 against property, and 1,382 assaults on land and agricultural areas. Settlers were directly involved in 4,723 of the attacks, underscoring their central role in the ongoing violence.
The data show that settler attacks last year resulted in the killing of 14 Palestinians, the burning of 434 homes, properties, and agricultural sites, and the destruction or poisoning of 35,273 trees, including nearly 27,000 olive trees.
Palestinian authorities also reported the forced displacement of 13 Bedouin communities since the beginning of 2025, affecting 197 families, around 1,090 people, after settlers took control of their areas.
Researchers argue that these developments challenge claims that the attacks are carried out by “rogue” groups.
West Bank affairs researcher Uday Ja‘ar said the violence reflects an official policy in which settlers act as an enforcement arm of the Israeli government.
Speaking to Felesteen newspaper, Ja‘ar noted that settlers hold significant political influence, making up about 12 percent of the Israeli parliament and exerting power through far-right ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Ja‘ar said settlement expansion has become a political and religious doctrine for the Israeli far right, pointing to the continued residence of senior ministers in settlements as evidence of the project’s ideological importance.
He added that by the end of 2025, Israeli occupation forces and settlers controlled an estimated 41 percent of the West Bank, which now contains more than 200 settlements, over 350 outposts, dozens of military sites, and multiple military training colleges.
He warned that displacement policies are advancing on two fronts: the removal of Bedouin communities with historical and national significance, and the confinement of Palestinians to urban centers while cutting them off from farmland and grazing areas.
As an example, he cited the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, where residents have reportedly been prevented from accessing surrounding agricultural land.
Palestinian officials estimate that settlers now control roughly 500,000 dunams of agricultural and grazing land, an area equivalent to about one and a half times the size of the Gaza Strip, marking a major shift in the West Bank’s demographic and agricultural landscape.
Israeli affairs analyst Nizar Nazzal described the settler violence as organized and deliberate, involving groups with specific roles ranging from land seizure to arson and lethal attacks. He said this structure reflects a coordinated settlement project aimed at undermining Palestinian life and accelerating territorial control.
Nazzal added that settlers increasingly function as a parallel arm of the Israeli security system, noting growing discussions in Israeli media about a so-called settler army and expanded arming of settlers.
He warned that the violence is intended to create permanent insecurity and push Palestinians toward forced displacement.
“What is happening in the West Bank is not spontaneous. It is a premeditated project linked to policies promoted by far-right leaders within the Israeli government since late 2022.” Nazzal said.
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