Israeli army, occupiers carry out over 1,180 arson attacks in occupied West Bank over 3 years

The Israeli army and occupiers carried out 1,182 arson attacks targeting Palestinian property and land in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between Oct. 7, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2026, according to official Palestinian figures. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement Wednesday that 809 attacks targeted property, vehicles and facilities, while 373 others affected Palestinian land. The central West Bank governorate of Ramallah and al-Bireh and the northern governorate of Nablus alone recorded 711 attacks, accounting for 60.2% of the total, the commission said.

The statement came after Israeli occupiers set fire early Wednesday to more than 100 vehicles at a lot used to collect old and damaged cars in the village of Lubban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus. Ramallah and al-Bireh recorded 376 arson attacks, including 238 targeting property and 138 affecting land, while Nablus saw 335 attacks, of which 207 targeted property and 128 affected land, according to the commission. The remaining attacks were recorded in Hebron in the south, with 112; Jenin in the north, 73; Bethlehem in the south, 64; Tulkarem in the north, 61; Salfit in the north, 44; Qalqilya in the northwest, 39; Jerusalem, 32; Tubas in the north, 29; and Jericho in the east, 17.

The commission said Lubban al-Sharqiya was previously targeted on April 6, 2026, when occupiers set fire to a house, two tents and three vehicles and assaulted residents. Its report for October also documented the burning of two vehicles in the Wadi al-Shaer area between the village and Salfit governorate. The commission stressed that the Israeli army’s responsibility extends beyond attacks carried out directly by its forces, saying it also includes protecting occupiers and obstructing residents and crews from reaching targeted areas.

Early Wednesday, Israeli occupiers set fire to more than 100 vehicles at the lot in Lubban al-Sharqiya, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. The flames spread to dozens of olive trees, warehouses and streetlights, cutting electricity to the area and causing Palestinians to suffer smoke inhalation. The head of the village council estimated initial losses at more than 1 million Israeli shekels. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 457 attacks by Israeli occupiers in the West Bank in October, the highest monthly figure since it began recording such incidents in 2006.

The occupied West Bank has seen an escalation in Israeli army raids and occupier violence, including killings, arrests, home demolitions, land leveling and seizures, alongside the expansion of Israeli settlements.