Israeli Settler Violence: A Strategy to Displace Palestinians from their Land
Yara M. Asi On April 9, 2026, news broke that the Israeli government had recently authorized the construction of 34 new settlements in the West Bank—nearly six times the number approved in the thirty years following the 1993 Oslo Accords. The announcement comes after a month in which Palestinians in the West Bank experienced some of the most dangerous conditions in recent memory. On March 13, settlers broke into a family home in the Bedouin village of Khirbet Humsa, attacked the people inside, including children, stole valuables and sheep, and sexually assaulted a man. Just a week later, during the Eid holiday, mobs of Israeli settlers terrorized Palestinian villages across the West Bank, attacking cars, setting vehicles on fire, smashing windows, and in some cases, hurling Molotov cocktails at families in their homes. During the wave of violence, gangs spraypainted threats and attacked resisting residents in the town of Silat al-Dhahr; the Israeli army closed the entrance to the town, preventing Palestinian firefighters and ambulances from responding. The same weekend, two Palestinians were wounded by settlers who entered the town of Masafer Yatta, protected by the Israeli military. Just days later, settlers injured seven Palestinians near Tulkarem. Then, on March 27, a CNN reporter witnessed Israeli soldiers assaulting his photographer, seemingly to prevent coverage of a settler outpost. These brazen assaults on a defenseless, occupied population prompted international condemnation. The European Union and the United Kingdom criticized the rise in settler violence, as did Canada and the Arab League. Even...
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