Key facts
- The UN has recorded over 1,000 settler attacks in the occupied West Bank this year.
- These attacks have affected more than 230 Palestinian communities.
- Over 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence and related restrictions.
- Independent investigators found Israeli authorities directly support and enable settler violence.
- Settler violence is seen as a tool for Israeli state policy aimed at annexation and displacement.
The United Nations has reported that settler attacks causing casualties or property damage in the occupied West Bank have exceeded 1,000 since the beginning of the year. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that these attacks have affected over 230 communities across the West Bank.
The UN also noted that more than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to settler violence and other access restrictions. Hundreds more have been forced from their homes following demolitions by Israeli authorities. Recent information indicates that settler attacks last week alone resulted in injuries to over 30 Palestinians and widespread property damage.
Independent investigators from the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel have found that Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks through financial and military support, and by granting impunity. The report states that settler violence functions as a means of implementing Israeli state policy, aiming for the entrenchment of settlements, annexation of Palestinian territory, and displacement of Palestinians.
The Commission documented instances of settlers assaulting, abducting, and abusing Palestinian children, and using sexual violence or threats thereof to instill fear. Last year, at least seven Palestinians were killed and 832 injured by settlers, marking a 130% increase over the previous year. The investigators also highlighted severe violations of human rights law by all parties to the conflict, including Hamas-affiliated forces in Gaza.