West Bank16 August, 20262 min read
Qatar Condemns Israeli Settler Attacks in West Bank, Cites Israeli Army Protection
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Qatar condemns Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank as a violation of international law. Qatar calls for protecting Palestinians amid systematic violence against civilians.
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Qatar condemns West Bank
Qatar condemned escalating attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and said the assaults are a "blatant violation of international law and UN resolutions." In its Saturday statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the violence reflects the occupation government’s approach to enable settlers to commit more attacks "under the protection of the Israeli army and security forces." The condemnation came as settlers imposed a siege on three Palestinian families in the town of Qusra, southeast of Nablus, for seven days, according to the same account.
The West Bank has also seen a rise in attacks by settlers on Palestinians and their property, with B'Tselem warning that events in Qusra are part of an escalation of forcible displacement. B'Tselem said 64 Palestinian communities have been completely displaced since October 2023, alongside parts of 15 other communities, leading to displacement of more than 4,800 Palestinians, including more than 2,300 minors.
Qusra siege and powers
The Qatar condemnation arrived a day after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Katz announced transferring law-enforcement powers in the West Bank settlements to the Israeli police led by far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The Al-Jazirah Net account said the move was met with broad Palestinian condemnation and was seen by some as an announcement of the start of annexation and consolidation of control over the Palestinian territories.
In a separate report, AP described Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra huddled inside their homes for days because of the threat posed by Israeli settlers.
AP quoted U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee referring to the settlers as "terrorists," while Israel’s defense minister dismissed them as radical misfits — "boys on the hills."
UK minister, statistics, IDF
UK Minister of State for the Middle East Stephen Doughty condemned what he called "shocking" colonist violence in the West Bank and said the "must end" violence and terrorism perpetrated by Israeli colonists. Doughty wrote on X that the "shocking, appalling settler violence and settler terrorism we are seeing, yet again, in the West Bank - must end," and he expressed particular concern about events in Qusra south of Nablus where Israeli settlers and the army laid siege to at least two Palestinian homes. WAFA and Ammon News both tied the condemnation to figures from the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, including 3,488 attacks during the first half of 2026 and 17 Palestinians killed by colonists during the period.
Ammon News said the commission reported 42 new colonial outposts established and 4,379 dunums of Palestinian land seized, while AP reported that the Israeli military had yet to fully remove settlers from the area of the village about an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv. In parallel, The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF canceled and postponed arrests of Palestinians suspected of terrorism as forces were diverted to deal with rising settler extremism, citing an IDF Spokesperson’s Unit response that it was "unable" to arrest all of the wanted suspects.