Ramallah, Aug. 25 (Petra)-- The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported a sharp rise in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank during the first seven months of 2026, recording 4,113 attacks, an increase of 1,589 incidents, or 63 percent, compared with 2,524 attacks during the same period last year.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the commission said settler attacks this year exceeded, without exception, the levels recorded in the corresponding months of 2025. The highest figures were recorded in June and July, with 748 and 798 attacks respectively, compared with 442 and 466 attacks during the same months last year.
The commission explained that the pace of attacks did not follow a consistently upward trend throughout the months, but remained at high levels before rising significantly as the middle of the year approached, reflecting the expanding scope and repeated nature of the attacks.
It stressed that the attacks should not be treated as isolated incidents, saying they have taken place within what it described as a "political, security and legal enabling environment" that has strengthened since the formation of the far-right government at the end of 2022.
The commission said the escalation in attacks coincided with the expansion of settlement outposts, particularly herding outposts, the arming of settlers and the incorporation of some of them into security formations, in addition to providing them with military protection and a decline in accountability for attacks against Palestinians.
It added that there is growing operational coordination between the Israeli occupation forces and settlers in asserting control over the land and restricting Palestinians’ access to their lands and sources of livelihood.
The commission warned that weak international positions and inadequate deterrence and accountability mechanisms have contributed to turning settler attacks from isolated incidents into an organized tool for creating new geographic realities and pushing Palestinian communities toward shrinking and displacement.
//Petra// MF
