Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians Under Occupation Forces’ Protection in West Bank, UN Documents 60 Attacks in One Week

Israeli settlers carried out coordinated assaults on Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.

“Hours after two Palestinian children were shot by Israeli forces northeast of Ramallah, settlers set fire to several vehicles, including two in the Deir al-Nil area of Surif, north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank”

Al-Jazeera Net

Eyewitness accounts and humanitarian reports accuse Israeli security forces of enabling the attacks while Palestinians were shot, beaten, and had their homes and cars torched.

Al-Jazeera Net

AP News reports that settlers set fire to homes, vehicles, and farms in al-Mughayyir, killing Jehad Abu Alia and injuring at least 25 people.

The report also notes accusations that the army protected the attackers.

CNN details a mob of 1,000 to 1,200 settlers storming Al Mughayyir and quotes Palestinian officials who said Israeli forces blocked ambulances and restricted Palestinian movement.

The BBC confirms that Abu Alia was killed as armed settlers stormed the area during an Israeli military search for a missing Israeli boy.

It remains unclear whether settlers or soldiers fired the fatal shot, according to the BBC.

Al-Jazeera Net cites the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documenting 60 settler attacks in a single week.

This signals coordinated settler aggression during the olive harvest season.

Multiple outlets document settlers shooting and burning Palestinian property while Israeli forces operated in and around the villages.

PBS reports settlers shot residents and set homes and vehicles on fire, leaving one Palestinian dead and 25 wounded—eight by live fire—while saying troops later cleared settlers from Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya.

Al-Jazeera Net

AP News says Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians who tried to confront settlers, amid accusations the army protected the attackers.

CNN reports Israeli forces restricted Palestinian movement and blocked ambulances as settlers rampaged, and notes people wounded by bullet fragments.

NBC News adds that settlers also hit other villages like Douma and that the Israeli military delayed Abu Alia’s burial.

The immediate trigger was the disappearance and killing of 14-year-old Israeli settler Binyamin Achimair.

“In the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, dozens of Israeli settlers launched a violent attack on Palestinian residents, setting fire to homes, vehicles, and other properties”

AP News

Israeli authorities labeled the incident a "terrorist attack," after which settlers launched revenge raids.

NBC News reports that Israel described the killing as a "terrorist attack," with retaliation bringing property destruction and the death of Abu Alia.

Malay Mail says Israeli forces found the teenager’s body and that settlers then set homes and cars on fire, killing one Palestinian.

BBC and PBS add that Israeli forces had killed two Palestinians earlier that day, including a commander from Hamas, during a raid in the northern West Bank.

These events show how Israeli military operations and settler raids overlapped in time as Palestinians were being killed.

These attacks occur amid ongoing settlement expansion and a documented pattern of Palestinian deaths in the West Bank caused by Israeli forces.

AP News and NBC News report that over 700,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts widely regarded by the international community as illegal under international law.

BBC

The Guardian and the BBC state that since October 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 460 Palestinians in the West Bank.

PBS notes that rights groups accuse the Israeli military of failing to prevent or punish settler attacks.

Western governments have started sanctioning some settlers, according to the BBC.

Coverage varies on how to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza and how this context relates to settler violence in the West Bank.

“Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to homes and cars in one of the largest settler attacks this year”

CNN

Al-Jazeera Net calls Israel’s campaign a two-year genocide starting on October 8, 2023, reporting over 68,000 deaths and 170,000 injuries.

CNN

This outlet links the Gaza campaign to increased killings, injuries, and mass arrests in the West Bank.

In contrast, The Guardian and the BBC report about 33,600 Palestinians killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, due to Israeli military actions.

They also connect the West Bank killings by Israeli forces to the same period.

PBS and other Western media focus on the humanitarian crisis and international concern but generally avoid using the term 'genocide' that Al-Jazeera Net employs.