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SvennoJ on 18 April 2025
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Israeli settler attacks continue in the occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians on their land in the town of Biddya, in the Salfit governorate in the occupied West Bank, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. The Palestine Red Crescent said that a Palestinian was injured in the attack.

Local sources also told our colleagues that dozens of settlers stormed Jabal al-Urma, a hill in the town of Beita in the Nablus governorate under the protection of the Israeli army. Settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.


Israeli settler attacks reported in the West Bank

We’re getting reports of Israeli military and settler attacks in several locations across the occupied West Bank.

  • Footage posted on social media and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit showed Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian lands in the village of Farkha in the Salfit governorate.
  • The governorate said three people were injured in a settler attack on Khallet Hassan near the town of Biddya.
  • Footage verified by Sanad showed Israeli settlers storming Mount al-Arma – an archaeological and natural landmark – in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.
  • Our colleagues are reporting that the settlers were accompanied by a “heavy” deployment of Israeli military forces; local sources said some of the settlers broke into rooms owned by Palestinians from the town.

Israeli settler and military violence has soared across the West Bank – particularly in the north of the territory – since the Gaza war began. The UN has said this violence has displaced roughly 40,000 Palestinians since Israel began a new military operation in the West Bank on January 21.


Settlements a ‘major obstacle’ to peace

The British consulate in Jerusalem has posted a thread on X in which it says diplomats from a number of countries, including Belgium, France, Spain and Germany, have shown “support with Palestinian community members” after settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.

“The attacks included demolitions of donor-funded shelters and other structures”, the consulate said, as it called on Israel to “uphold its obligations under the 4th Geneva Convention, including the prohibition of forcible transfer and destruction of homes and property”.

“We also reaffirm our opposition to settlements, which are illegal under international law, and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace”, it said.