In West Bank, wave of settler violence creating feel of a war zone
| RAMALLAH, West Bank; and AMMAN, Jordan
After years of scattered pinpoint attacks, Israeli settler violence this week enveloped the West Bank and struck larger communities.
From Nablus to Jericho to Bethlehem to the edge of Ramallah, deadly attacks by far-right settlers hit towns and villages, killing four Palestinians, wounding dozens, and grinding life in the West Bank to a halt.
The wave of violence, which followed the disappearance and death of a 14-year-old Israeli settler, a shepherd, comes as the Palestinian Authority warns it is struggling to keep the peace.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWith the world focused on Iran and Gaza, Israeli settlers are stepping up attacks against Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank. Feeling abandoned, many residents believe they should take matters into their own hands.
The PA is calling for international intervention to prevent a 鈥渃ollapse鈥� of order and an uncontrollable spiral of violence.
Palestinians say the violence is leaving them feeling abandoned in a war zone, unable to defend themselves and disillusioned with what they say is an ineffective international community. Increasingly, many are convinced they must take matters into their own hands.
鈥淲e are exhausted,鈥� says Sarah al-Wadi, whose two-story home in Qusra, outside Nablus, was torched by settlers on Saturday.
鈥淲hat is left? What else can I do?鈥� she asks, as she attempts to clean up the damage. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 safe here, but at the same time we can鈥檛 stay silent and idle. We are totally alone.鈥�
Systematic increase
The latest violence followed the disappearance last week of the Israeli teen in the West Bank. His body was discovered Saturday. Israeli officials say his death is being investigated as a case of terrorism.
Residents and activists say the ensuing Israeli attacks appeared preplanned. 聽
Settlers began the rampage last Friday in the morning, before the teenager鈥檚 body was found, overwhelming vulnerable Palestinian farming villages near illegal Israeli settlements.
While Israeli settlers for years have harassed and attacked relatively remote Bedouin communities, this week marked the first full-on assault on Palestinian villages.
鈥淭his is a significant change, and the significant losses resulting from the attacks are alarming,鈥� says Abdallah Abu Rahmah, director-general of the Palestinian Wall and Colonization Resistance Commission 鈥� a semiofficial authority tasked with tracking West Bank settlement outposts and settler attacks.
Experts and activists link the increased violence in Palestinian villages and towns with the proliferation of illegal settler outposts on village outskirts. The new outposts connect existing outposts and larger settlements, effectively encircling West Bank towns and districts and cutting off main roads that connect much of the West Bank.聽
鈥淭hey send their cattle to destroy people鈥檚 farms; then they arrive armed and escalate tensions,鈥� says Ghaleb Mayadmeh, a municipal official in Aqraba, where a group of 50 settlers killed two people Monday, according to residents on the scene, in the second deadly attack on the village in a month. 鈥淭hey attack; we defend ourselves and get accused of violence.鈥�
Role of illegal outposts
Most of the violent attacks come from relatively few settlements that are situated 鈥渨ith the clear objective to displace Palestinian communities and limit [individuals鈥橾 ability to move from one place to another,鈥� according to Peace Now, an Israeli peace group.
With the international community鈥檚 attention turned to Iran and Gaza, Israeli watchdogs and international organizations say, settlers are stepping up their violence.
Hilltop outposts are being used as a 鈥渢ool to ban Palestinians from using their lands and to instill fear and insecurity,鈥� says Mauricio Lapchik, Peace Now鈥檚 external relations director.
Removing illegal outposts and ending the violence is essential to 鈥渁void a new war front in the West Bank,鈥� he warns.
Yet settlers鈥� encroachment on Palestinian farming towns and villages is increasing.
On Sunday, a small group of settlers near Al Auja, near Jericho, blocked residents from using the village鈥檚 water spring, on which dozens of households depend, residents say.
Since Hamas鈥� Oct. 7 attack on Israel, 16 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in 700 settler-led attacks, according to the United Nations. The attacks have uprooted seven entire communities and displaced people from 20 other communities, which are mainly Bedouin.
But now in towns and villages, as larger groups of residents seek to repel settlers, activists warn that casualties could rise. Some accuse the Israeli army of facilitating the attacks, though the army says soldiers have a duty to intervene to stop them.
鈥淪ettlers are armed, their children are armed, the army is with them, and the law is with them,鈥� says Palestinian activist Aymen Ghareeb, who tracks settler attacks. 鈥淭his is the most difficult phase we have ever faced.鈥�
New cycle of violence?
There are growing concerns that Palestinian citizens may take matters into their own hands.
鈥淒on鈥檛 we have a right to defend ourselves?鈥� asks one Jordan Valley resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons. 鈥淭he international community and American sanctions have failed us. It is clear that the only thing that can stop force is force.鈥�
During this week鈥檚 attacks, as in the past, PA security services were nowhere to be seen, residents say.
PA officials stress their security services鈥� mandate is limited to maintaining civil peace, not to act as an army to defend Palestinians from external threats or to confront Israelis.
鈥淚f the Palestinian security forces wished to go into Al-Mughayer鈥� during clashes, 鈥渢hey would require coordination with the Israelis, which would not be granted under the current circumstances,鈥� says senior Fatah official Mounir Jaghoub.
PA security officials warn that the increasingly deadly friction between Palestinians and far-right settlers is threatening an outbreak of a new, unpredictable cycle of violence, which they say they would have no way of stopping.
鈥淭he dangers posed by confrontations between the [Palestinian] public and settlers may lead to a total collapse鈥� of the situation, says Talal Dweikat, PA security forces spokesperson. 鈥淭he international community must act to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions and prevent escalation.鈥�
On Tuesday, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights urged 鈥渁ll states with influence to do everything in their power鈥� to halt 鈥渞ising violence and targeted attacks in the West Bank,鈥� which it called a 鈥渕atter of grave concern.鈥�
鈥淚srael, as the occupying power, must take all measures in its power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety in the occupied West Bank,鈥� the rights body said.
鈥淭he Israeli security forces must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians,鈥� the statement added. 鈥淚sraeli authorities must instead prevent further attacks, including by bringing those responsible to account.鈥�
Soldiers鈥� actions scrutinized
Residents in Aqraba say Israeli forces were on the scene of the settler attack Monday, but as of Thursday, no settlers had been arrested.
鈥淒ue to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] constant presence in the area, the soldiers encounter incidents of violations of the law by Israelis, some may be violent incidents or incidents directed at Palestinians or their property,鈥� the IDF said in a statement to the Monitor. 鈥淚n these cases, the soldiers are required to act to stop the violation and, if necessary, to delay or detain the suspects until the police arrive at the scene.鈥�
鈥淚n situations where soldiers fail to adhere to IDF orders, the incidents are thoroughly reviewed, and disciplinary actions are implemented聽accordingly.鈥�
Separately, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed an administrative arrest warrant this week for a 16-year-old Jerusalem resident suspected of being involved in recent settler violence.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced its third round of sanctions on far-right Israeli settlers and groups, which included prominent activist Bentzi Gopstein, while the European Union sanctioned four settlers and the far-right Lehava organization.
Palestinians on the front lines of the violence say the international community鈥檚 condemnations, warnings, and alarms are of little help.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe anyone is here to uphold our human rights or protect us,鈥� says a defiant Mrs. Al-Wadi in Qusra. 鈥淚 won鈥檛 wait for accountability. They want us off our lands, but we aren鈥檛 going anywhere.鈥�
