Palestinians injured in settler attack in the occupied West Bank: Report
Several Palestinians have been injured in a settler attack in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports. The attack caused extensive damage to residents’ homes and property, Wafa stated, citing local activist Osama Makhamreh.
He said the settlers physically assaulted residents, injuring an elderly man and inflicting head wounds that required hospital treatment.
The settlers also vandalised property, smashing the windows of a house and damaging several civilian vehicles and two agricultural tractors belonging to two families in the area, Wafa said.
Violent attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank have surged since October 2023, in tandem with Israel’s war on Gaza, with the United Nations reporting that almost 650 Palestinians – including 121 children – have been killed in the territory by Israeli forces and settlers between January 1, 2024 and the start of July 2025.
A further 5,269 Palestinians were injured during that period, including 1,029 children.
France condemns Israel’s approval for settlement project east of Jerusalem
France’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement that the approval by an Israeli planning commission of a project to build settlements in the E1 area east of Jerusalem is unacceptable and constitutes a violation of international law.
Yesterday, Israel said that the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, had received the final go-ahead from a Defence Ministry planning commission.
Formulaic condemnations not sufficient’: Amnesty on Israel’s E1 plan
Amnesty International has condemned Israel’s decision to approve about 3,400 new illegal settlement units in a corridor of the occupied West Bank between Jerusalem and the massive settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
The so-called E1 settlement expansion, which would effectively sever the northern and southern portions of the occupied territory, has been widely criticised by world leaders and the UN. But Amnesty said that doesn’t go far enough.
“For decades, Israel has pursued vicious land grab policies & relentlessly expanded illegal settlements in violation of int’l law with devastating consequences for Palestinians’ human rights while facing no repercussions,” the rights group wrote on X.
“Formulaic condemnations are not sufficient,” it added.
“All states have an obligation to take concrete actions to ensure Israel immediately halts the E1 settlement expansion plan, dismantles existing Israeli settlements and brings its unlawful occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza to an end.”
The Israeli civil administration’s approval of the E1 settlement plan to build some 3400 housing units between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a dangerous step towards formal…
— Amnesty MENA (@AmnestyMENA) August 21, 2025
