Israel outsourcing coercion to settlers in occupied West Bank: UN’s Albanese

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese says Israel bears responsibility for settlers’ actions and is effectively outsourcing coercion to them, as settlers have been surrounding three homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra for a week, trapping Palestinian residents inside. “Israel has outsourced coercion to the settlers, and Israel is advancing violently the ethnic cleansing of Palestine through the settlers. So as Israeli ministers had said two years ago, once they are done with Gaza, they will move to the West Bank,” she said. Albanese said the ongoing actions were “incredibly and utterly shameful,” criticizing the international community for allowing them to continue. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank have continued for years and have escalated significantly since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023. UN: Nearly 3,000 settler attacks in West Bank since beginning of 2025 Official United Nations data shows that armed settler groups have carried out nearly 3,000 attacks since the beginning of 2025, targeting Palestinian towns, villages and farms across various governorates of the occupied West Bank. The UN warned in a statement issued Sunday of a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in attacks by the Israeli occupation army and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. The organization said Palestinians are facing systematic killings and widespread forced displacement, affecting large numbers of residential and Bedouin communities. It said the attacks have resulted in hundreds of serious injuries among Palestinians, as well as extensive damage to property and infrastructure, including the burning of homes and mosques and the destruction of water networks and private property, under the direct cover and protection of the occupation forces. Palestinians shot, beaten and forced from homes as Israeli raids sweep West Bank Israeli forces and armed settlers reportedly shot, beat and detained Palestinians and forced families from their homes during new raids and attacks across the occupied West Bank. Israeli occupiers erect tents for new illegal outpost in occupied West Bank According to WAFA, Israeli settlers set up the tents in the Wadi Zeytun area in an attempt to seize Palestinian land and establish a new outpost. If the attempt succeeds, the number of illegal settlement sites in the area will rise to six, the agency reported. WAFA said the move came amid increased attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property. Settler attacks in the occupied West Bank have intensified since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023. About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank and occupied East al-Quds. The UN considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal under international law.