In the early hours of Sunday, various areas of the occupied West Bank witnessed a new wave of settler attacks, carried out under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. The assaults included the torching of three Palestinian vehicles and the uprooting of around 150 olive trees, scenes that have become a daily reality without accountability or consequences.
In the village of Majdal Bani Fadil, southeast of Nablus, settlers burned two vehicles belonging to Palestinians Abdel Nabi Tayeh and Saddam Tayeh in the Al-Mazra’a area, and scrawled racist, anti-Arab graffiti on the walls of a home.
In the village of Al-Taybeh, east of Ramallah, settlers set fire to a Palestinian vehicle, completely destroying it.
Meanwhile, in the village of Al-Mughayyir, also east of Ramallah and frequently targeted by settlers and occupation forces, settlers cut down 150 olive trees in the “Sahl Marj Siaa” area before withdrawing.
In the village of Umm Safa, north of Ramallah, settlers also stole and vandalized beehives, causing significant losses to local farmers.
These attacks come amid a sharp increase in systematic violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. The aggression is organized and supported by the Israeli military establishment, with settlers often operating under army protection that enables them to carry out their crimes. This constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit an occupying power from harming the safety of the civilian population or destroying their private property.
Field evidence shows these assaults are not isolated incidents, but rather part of a deliberate strategy to displace Palestinians from their agricultural land and impose new settlement realities that serve the Israeli occupation’s expansionist goals. These attacks frequently coincide with the olive harvest season in an attempt to deprive Palestinian farmers of their livelihoods and force them off their land.
Over the past two years, settlers have carried out more than 7,000 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of dozens of civilians and the forced displacement of entire Bedouin communities, amid official complicity and a disturbing international silence.
Alongside the genocide in Gaza, a parallel path of crimes continues in the West Bank by both the Israeli occupation army and settlers. These have led to the deaths of at least 1,051 Palestinians, the injury of more than 10,000 others, and the arrest of over 20,000 individuals—including 1,600 children.
The ongoing violations, coupled with the absence of accountability or effective international intervention, reflect the collapse of the global justice system in the face of Israeli occupation’s crimes and pave the way for further violence and ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Given the recurrence of these crimes with complete impunity, there is an urgent need for international action to establish an effective protection mechanism for Palestinians under occupation and to ensure the application of international humanitarian law, which criminalizes attacks on civilians and their property.
The silence of the international community and the failure of global institutions to enforce legal obligations on the Israeli occupation only embolden further violations, expand illegal settlements, and entrench apartheid realities in Palestine. Peace and stability cannot be achieved while the occupied territories are governed by a regime of power and arrogance, absent legal and humanitarian accountability.
International protection for Palestinians is no longer just a political demand; it is a legal and moral duty to stop the cycle of systematic violence and uphold the last remnants of justice and human dignity in the face of occupation policies rooted in discrimination, dispossession, and forced displacement.