Seven injured as settler attacks escalate across West Bank

2026-03-22 - 15:30

RAMALLAH — Seven Palestinians were injured and multiple vehicles and properties damaged in a series of attacks carried out by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to medics and local media.The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams treated three people who were beaten in the village of Jalud near Nablus, where settlers stormed the area, assaulted residents and set fire to the village council building.Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that four vehicles were burned in the attack, three of them completely destroyed.In the northern town of Bruqin, three Palestinians sustained bruises after settlers attacked their vehicles with stones, while another Palestinian was beaten and injured in Silat ad-Dhahr after settlers attempted to set fire to his home.Further incidents were reported in the village of Fandaqumiya, south of Jenin, where settlers set fire to homes and vehicles and vandalized property, smashing windows as residents tried to confront them.In Qalqilya, settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near the Qadumim settlement, though no injuries were reported, while in the Jordan Valley, residents in the Ein al-Hilweh community were attacked and sprayed with pepper spray.Additional attacks were reported across multiple areas, including the closure of a key road linking Ramallah and Nablus.According to Palestinian figures, settlers carried out 511 attacks across the West Bank in February alone, killing seven Palestinians.Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, violence by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, injured around 11,700 others and led to approximately 22,000 arrests.In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and called for the evacuation of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.