West Bank settler attacks hit all-time high
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- OHCHR warned on Wednesday that violence in the occupied West Bank is worsening, reporting that settlers and Israeli security forces have "often" acted together to attack Palestinian communities, and that movement restrictions on Palestinians are now tighter than ever.
- As of 24 July, 76 Palestinians and one Israeli have died in settler attacks this year; since Friday, eight Palestinians including a boy and two Israeli military members have been killed in the region.
- Settler attacks have risen every year since 2023, reaching 1,835 in 2025 according to OCHA, with roughly 190 attacks per month in the first four months of 2026 putting the West Bank on pace to surpass 2,000 attacks this year.
- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently announced approval of several new settlements, which UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov called "illegal under international law" in a Security Council briefing.
- OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani flagged "open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment" and threats to "turn the West Bank into another Gaza," reiterating calls for third States to act urgently to end the occupation.
- Israeli troops forcibly entered a UN facility in East Jerusalem on Monday where hundreds of Palestinian refugees receive free vocational training — an action the UN and its partners condemned as violating international law.
- The escalation comes two years after the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that Israel's occupation of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967 is illegal; Israel and the US voted against a September General Assembly resolution endorsing a two-State solution.
Why it matters: With 76 Palestinians killed in settler attacks already this year and attacks tracking past 2,000 in 2026 — up from 1,835 last year — the UN is calling on third States to act against an occupation the ICJ already ruled illegal, while Israeli forces raided a UN-run vocational training facility in East Jerusalem this week.
