Israeli Settlers Kill Five Palestinians in Occupied West Bank as EU and UK Condemn Violence

Israeli settlers carried out lethal attacks in the occupied West Bank this week, with Middle East Eye reporting that at least six Palestinians were killed in settler violence over seven days.

“EU and UK denounce Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in West Bank The European Union and United Kingdom have issued statements calling for an end to Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank this week”

Middle East Eye

In one major incident, a group of 100 masked settlers descended on the town of Abu Falah seeking to displace residents; the attackers shot and killed Fara Hamayel, 57, and Thaer Hamayel, 30, and wounded several others.

Middle East Eye

Mondoweiss describes a community left “paralyzed” and living with a pervasive sense that “you can be killed in our own town without consequences, without justice being served,” capturing the immediate human toll and atmosphere of fear after the killings.

Reporting points to policy changes and state decisions that critics say have enabled the surge in settler violence.

Mondoweiss places responsibility squarely on Israeli government moves, noting that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir allowed 18 additional West Bank settlements to issue firearm permits to settlers and that the government cancelled the procedure of administrative detention for Israeli settlers in the West Bank, which the article says makes it harder to arrest settlers accused of violent attacks.

Mondoweiss

Middle East Eye adds that Palestinian human rights organisations have documented a 25 percent increase in settler violence since the onset of the war on Iran, underscoring the measurable escalation.

Beyond killings, settlers are consolidating power on the ground through theft, infrastructure and attempts at displacement.

“EU and UK denounce Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in West Bank The European Union and United Kingdom have issued statements calling for an end to Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank this week”

Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye reports that settlers stormed Hamza al-Fouqa in the Jordan Valley, stole 300 head of cattle and “paved a new road to escalate settlement activity in Northeast Ramallah,” actions that seize land and livelihoods.

Mondoweiss conveys the social consequences: empty streets, public mourning that must be carefully managed amid fear, and the pervasive impression that local justice systems will not hold attackers to account, deepening displacement and community trauma.

There are organised calls inside the UK to respond to settlement-linked economic activity, but the articles provided do not show a direct EU condemnation in the excerpts shared.

Middle East Eye reports that 21 British and international civil society organisations urged the UK government to “ban imports of any item which is wholly or partially produced in Israel’s illegal settlements,” and that 119 British MPs demanded increased sanctions on Israel and a ban on trade with illegal settlements.

Mondoweiss

Mondoweiss frames these developments against a broader narrative of state-enabled settler impunity, but the supplied snippets do not include an explicit EU statement, so claims about EU condemnation cannot be verified from the provided material.