The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) stated that the number of settler attacks has witnessed an unprecedented escalation in the West Bank. The price paid by Palestinian citizens is not measured by the number of attacks, but rather by the daily suffering that affects all aspects of life, from difficulty accessing water sources and agricultural land, especially those close to settlements and outposts, to restrictions on movement as settlers block village entrances and roads, subjecting citizens to various forms of psychological and physical violence.
He added that Palestinians are now besieged not only by the Apartheid Wall, but also by a network of violence that begins with the settlers and continues with the unjust Israeli military laws.
He explained that these attacks are not considered isolated or coincidental incidents, but rather part of a systematic policy of violence aimed at displacing Palestinian citizens from their land and emptying the areas of their Palestinian citizens, in preparation for the expansion of illegal settlements and outposts and the seizure of land for various settlement purposes. He noted that the attacks amounted to:
- 2020 (579)
- 2021 (911)
- 2022 (1527)
- 2023 (2191)
- 2024 (2444)
- Up to June of this year, there were (1444) attacks.
He explained that the details of the attacks and violations committed by settlers between January and June of this year varied, ranging from attacks on places of worship, seizure of Palestinian land, and attacks on civilians, livestock, property, natural resources, and other objects. These attacks are as follows:
- Bethlehem (87)
- Hebron (246)
- Jenin (2)
- Jericho (138)
- Jerusalem (160)
- Nablus (217)
- Qalqilya (44)
- Ramallah and al-Bireh (229)
- Salfit (148)
- Tubas (155)
- Tulkarm (18)
The report confirmed that settler groups have worked over the past few months to displace dozens of Bedouin families from their homes in the West Bank, focusing on Bedouin communities in the governorates of Hebron (southern West Bank) and Ramallah and al-Bireh (central West Bank), seizing the Palestinian lands they inhabited.
The institute cited a study by the Israeli organization B’Tselem on Bedouin communities targeted by settler groups since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023 until the date of this report. The study found that 38 communities were completely displaced from their homes (with a focus on Bedouin communities in the Ramallah, al-Bireh, and Hebron governorates). Other communities were also partially targeted, with some families displaced.
- In Jerusalem (one community)
- Bethlehem (5)
- Hebron (8)
- Jericho (1)
- Nablus (6)
- Ramallah (13)
- Salfit (2)
- Tubas (2)
ARIJ confirmed that the violations committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinian civilians constitute serious violations and breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.