UPDATE - Israeli army chief acknowledges upsurge in illegal settler attacks in occupied West Bank

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Wednesday acknowledged an upsurge in attacks by illegal settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.

The remarks were made during a ceremony marking the appointment of Yoram Levi as the new coordinator of Israeli government activities in the Palestinian territories, succeeding Ghassan Alian, the public broadcaster KAN reported.

Zamir urged security agencies “not to stand idly by” in the face of “nationalist crimes,” referring to attacks by illegal settlers in the West Bank.

Alian said the attacks “damage Israel’s image and the settlement project, even if carried out by small extremist groups,” adding that their security and political impact is wide-reaching.

Israeli police presented annual data this week showing a 3% increase in the number of cases opened in 2025 against suspects involved in “rioting” and “violence” in the West Bank, KAN said.

Separately, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews transferred a 28-year-old man to a hospital after he was shot by Israeli fire in the thigh near the Jenin refugee camp. The group did not provide further details.

In another attack, a Palestinian woman and her daughter were injured after illegal settlers assaulted them between the towns of Osarin and Beita, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, Palestinian media reported.

The official Wafa news agency said the woman and her daughter were attacked by illegal settlers in the Qammas area and were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued raids across the West Bank. The Voice of Palestine Radio said Israeli troops stormed the towns of al-Yamoun and al-Silah al-Harithiya, west of Jenin city, in the latest military operations in the area.

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations have repeatedly warned of a rise in illegal settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, accusing Israeli security forces of turning a blind eye and failing to hold perpetrators accountable.

According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official agency, illegal settlers carried out about 4,723 attacks in the West Bank in 2025, killing 14 Palestinians and forcing the displacement of 13 Bedouin communities totaling 1,090 people.

Official Palestinian reports say the number of illegal settlers in the West Bank reached about 770,000 by the end of 2024, spread across more than 180 settlements and 256 settlement outposts.

The UN says Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law and undermine the viability of a two-state solution and has for decades called for an end to settlement activity.

According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,111 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and injured at least 11,500 others since October 2023.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul