While much of the globe’s attention remains on the Gaza ceasefire deal, less than 33 kilometres (21 miles) away, Israeli settlers, often backed by soldiers, continue daily assaults and raids across the occupied West Bank.On Monday night, Israeli settlers uprooted 150 olive trees in the village of Bardala, in the northern Jordan Valley, destroying the livelihood of several families.Settlers regularly seize Bardala’s land, burn property and destroy crops in an effort to take over Palestinian land, expand illegal Israeli settlements, and intimidate local communities into leaving.Earlier on Monday, settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, injuring several of them. Witnesses said the attackers hurled stones, sicced dogs on people, and set fire to vehicles.Settler attacks on the riseSince Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has steadily risen.According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), settlers have attacked Palestinians nearly 3,000 times in the occupied West Bank over the past two years.The number of settler attacks has risen sharply since 2016, with 852 recorded in 2022, 1,291 in 2023 and 1,449 in 2024.With more than 1,000 attacks in the first eight months of 2025, this year is on track to become the most violent yet. (Al Jazeera) …
