West Bankupdated 1h ago2 min read
Israeli Settler Assaults Palestinian Child East of Yatta as West Bank Violence Surges
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Video shows Israeli settler assaulting Palestinian child east of Yatta, West Bank. Rights groups say perpetrators are rarely held accountable.
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One story. Different accounts.
“Yet the most pressing problem is not the sheer number of attacks; it is the Israeli government’s apparent disinterest in stopping them.”
The Jerusalem Post“Accountability requires identifying and confronting perpetrators, not condemning an entire community.”
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The Times of Israel was read line by line by the Watchdog: 3.0. See the score →
Assaults and escalation
An Israeli settler was filmed shouting at and assaulting a Palestinian child during an attack on a family east of Yatta in the occupied West Bank, where settler violence has surged in recent years. Rights groups say perpetrators are rarely held accountable, and the video circulated as violence continued around Palestinian communities. CNN framed the West Bank through the lens of Israeli policy under Netanyahu, describing how the Israeli settlement of Esh Kodesh served as a launchpad for a yearslong campaign of violence against nearby Palestinian villages.
CNN said settlers first established Esh Kodesh in 2000 as an outpost illegal under both Israeli and international law, and it grew from makeshift dwellings and mobile homes to a sprawling site. CNN said the Israeli government retroactively legalized Esh Kodesh in December 2025, after which violent attacks on the neighboring Palestinian villages of Qusra and Jalud escalated, sometimes with overt backing of the Israeli military.
Herzog backs IDF
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he was backing senior Israel Defense Forces commanders in taking decisive action against violent settler attacks in the West Bank.
Herzog said, "I looked them in the eye and I gave them full backing to do whatever it takes to stop this terrible phenomenon," and he described the goal as ending settler violence "at its roots."
Israeli police arrested 10 suspects following a series of settler attacks over the weekend, including a violent assault on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the deployment of an additional Border Police company to the West Bank, with the unit expected to begin operations in late November.
Herzog told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he had personally called Levine on Saturday to apologize for the attack, and he said, "I was morally tormented during Shabbat when I thought about it, and I express deep sorrow and apologize for what you went through," according to the article.
Political stakes and scrutiny
The Times of Israel said settler violence harms Israel’s interests by undermining Jerusalem’s diplomatic relations, image and legitimacy abroad, even among its best friends. Netanyahu cast doubt on accounts of Jewish attacks on diplomats, priests and journalists over the weekend, and it described a week before elections as a period of coalition calculations. Representatives from the French, Belgian and Polish embassies visited olive groves near Taybeh in the West Bank to observe the harvest, and it said masked Jewish youths armed with clubs began harassing the farmers and then moved on to the foreign officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "We’re very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing," and it said the United States asked Israel to crack down on the violence. Taybeh is the main Christian village in the West Bank and that Catholic priests were among the delegation that came under attack, while Bishop Imad Haddad said the Star Mountain center for children with intellectual disabilities near Ramallah was attacked by Jewish extremists twice this month.
