Aid organizations call for action: More than 1,000 attacks by Israeli settlers

Aid groups are calling for urgent action after the number of attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank reached 1,000 cases since October 7.

Israel’s recent war against Gaza was accompanied by increased Israeli attacks on the West Bank, with settlers taking the opportunity to attack Palestinians and their property.

The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) urged authorities to prevent Israeli annexation of Palestinian land and hold illegal settlers accountable for attacks.

“As the legalisation of outposts accelerates and Israel steals more and more land, foreign governments must act now to stop this illegal appropriation by taking meaningful action to hold the Israeli government and the perpetrators of these attacks to account,” said Sally Abi Khalil, Middle East and North Africa director at the British aid group Oxfam.

During the months-long conflict, settler attacks doubled to an average of four attacks per day.

According to AIDA, the increasing settler violence in the West Bank since October has resulted in the deaths of at least ten people, including two children. Another 234 people were injured, including 20 children.

Aid groups added that the escalation had also led to the forced displacement of 1,260 people from 20 different communities, including 600 children.

AIDA reports that despite limited sanctions against some Israeli settlers, the violence has not been curbed due to Israeli government support for the settlers.

AIDA advocates for the clearance of settlements and supports a Palestinian-led construction process in Area C, as well as redress for Palestinian victims, including restitution, rehabilitation, compensation and guarantees against future violations.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and built settlements there that are considered illegal under international law.

Settlement expansion, already underway under successive Israeli governments, has accelerated sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022, leading a hard-line pro-settler coalition.

There are currently over 490,000 Israeli settlers and about three million Palestinians living in the West Bank (excluding annexed East Jerusalem).

The recent unrest at an unauthorized outpost coincided with the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who himself lives in the West Bank, that more than 5,000 new housing units for Israelis will be built in the occupied territories.

“We are cultivating the good land and thwarting the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich announced on X.

Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group, reported that the Israeli council in charge of construction in the West Bank is expected to present plans for about 6,000 new settlement housing units this week.

Settler attacks continue to increase, while Israeli forces have killed at least 38,098 people in the nine-month war in the Gaza Strip.

A statement from the ministry said that at least 87 people had died in the past 48 hours.

It further said that 87,705 people had been injured in the Palestinian enclave since October 7.