UN alleges record levels of settler violence in the West Bank this year |
The UN said Thursday that violence by settlers in the West Bank has reached record levels, with an average of six attacks daily causing casualties or damage.
The number of such attacks this year has surpassed 1,000, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, citing the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“Just last week, settler attacks resulted in the injury of more than 30 Palestinians and widespread damage to property, central infrastructure as well as livelihoods,” Dujarric said. “The current pace of settler attacks causing casualties or property damage, with an average of six incidents per day, is higher than any year on record.”
More than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to settler violence or access restrictions, while hundreds more have been displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli authorities, he said.
The remarks came two days after rights group Amnesty accused Israel of “state-led” ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, a charge the IDF rejected.
Critics have accused the government and law enforcement of turning a blind eye to violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years and occur on a near-daily basis. Arrests are rare and prosecutions are even less common.
The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, up from 682 incidents in 2024.
Separately, Palestinian farmers told AFP this week that Israeli construction has allegedly destroyed irrigation systems on an agricultural plain near Tubas in the northern West Bank, causing fields to........