DaysofPal – Settlers carried out 192 attacks across the occupied West Bank during the past two weeks, according to Palestinian officials, who warned of a sharp escalation in violence against Palestinian communities.
Moayad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, said settlers intensified assaults on villages and residential areas during a period of regional tension and war. The attacks included shootings, the burning of homes and property, and attempts to impose new facts on the ground.
Shaaban said the wave of violence reflects a broader effort to exploit international and regional distractions in order to accelerate changes to the geographic and demographic reality in the West Bank at the expense of the Palestinian presence.
Concentrated attacks across several areas
The reported assaults were concentrated in several governorates. Hebron recorded 47 attacks, followed by Tubas with 42 and Nablus with 35. Additional incidents were reported in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, along with other locations, including Salfit, Jericho, and Qalqilya.
Shaaban said the past two weeks also witnessed deadly incidents that resulted in the killing of six Palestinians.
On March 2, settlers stormed the eastern area of Qaryut and opened fire on residents. Two brothers, 25-year-old Mohammed Muammar and 47-year-old Faheem Muammar, were killed. Three others were wounded.
Another shooting took place on March 7 in Masafer Yatta, where settlers opened fire on Palestinian shepherds grazing their livestock in Wadi al-Rakhim. Twenty-seven-year-old Amir Shanaran was killed, and his brother Khaled was injured.
On March 8, settlers attacked the village of Khirbet Abu Falah under the protection of Israeli forces. Gunfire was reported while Israeli troops used live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas against residents. Three Palestinians were killed: 24-year-old Thaer Hamayel, 57-year-old Fareh Hamayel and 55-year-old Mohammed Murra, who died after inhaling tear gas before reaching the hospital. Four others were wounded.
Forced displacement of Bedouin communities
Shaaban said the latest attacks forced four Palestinian Bedouin communities to leave their homes during the past two weeks. The displacement affected 37 families comprising 191 people, including 65 women and 106 children.
On March 8 settlers forced residents of the Yirza community to leave. Eleven families lived there. Another nine families were displaced from the Eastern Aqaba community one day earlier.
Additional communities were uprooted in Khirbet Shakara on March 6 and the Arab al‑Zawahra community on March 5.
Shaaban said settlers also attempted to establish eight new settlement outposts across the West Bank during the same period. The attempts involved erecting tents, livestock pens, and mobile structures on Palestinian land.
One effort took place in Itweel al‑Sheikh, while another outpost was set up in Beit Iksa with the participation of dozens of settlers and bulldozers.
Additional structures appeared on land belonging to Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya. A mobile home was installed in Yasuf following the construction of a settlement road.
Settlers also rebuilt an outpost in Qaryut, erected a tent near the road between Al‑Lubban al‑Sharqiya and Salfit, and established a new site on the summit of Mount Ebal with participation from the Samaria Regional Council and the settlement movement Amana.
According to the commission, settlers carried out 46 acts of vandalism against Palestinian property, farmland, and trees. Three attacks targeted religious sites, including an attempted arson attack on Mohammad Fayad Mosque in Duma and an assault on Majdal Bani Fadel Mosque.
Officials also cited ongoing incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and restrictions preventing Palestinians from reaching the site.
Military orders for land seizure
Shaaban said Israeli occupation forces approved plans for a road and infrastructure project on land belonging to Beit Ummar, paving the way for a proposed settlement called Ir HaKeren intended to connect the settlements of Karmei Tzur and Migdal Oz.
During the same period, Israeli occupation forces issued 12 military orders to seize about 230 dunams of Palestinian land for military purposes across several governorates, including Ramallah, Jenin, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tubas, Nablus, and Salfit. The orders involve the construction of military roads, positions, and buffer zones.
Another 13 military directives ordered the removal of trees across 863 dunams of land in various areas. The largest order targeted about 380 dunams belonging to the villages of Silwad, Atara, and Ein Siniya.
Warning of escalating situation
Shaaban said the figures reflect a serious escalation in settler violence alongside policies that allow settlers to impose new realities on the ground. He warned that the attacks form part of an organized effort to deepen control over Palestinian land while global attention remains focused on regional military developments and the war involving Iran.
He called on the international community and human rights organizations to take legal and moral responsibility to stop the violations and provide protection for the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy sites.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission had already warned in a statement issued on February 28 that settlers could exploit the climate of war to escalate attacks, urging Palestinians to remain cautious during the period of heightened regional tension.
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