Conflict & Security
West Bank settler attacks hit all-time high, UN says
Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank and the creation of settlements and outposts are hitting an all-time high, the UN human rights office said Wednesday, warning that violence and territorial annexation were "only getting worse".
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the office, said countries must "act urgently and in unison" to halt what she called the continuing killing and dispossession of Palestinians and to bring an end to the Israeli occupation.
Shamdasani said the UN was alarmed by an Israeli government announcement to further increase settlements and outposts. She also cited what she described as open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza.
She said eight Palestinians, including a boy, and two members of the Israeli military had been killed in the West Bank since last Thursday. She also said settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, had attacked local communities, assaulted families, destroyed and confiscated property and burned mosques. Movement restrictions were now tighter and were blocking Palestinians from reaching essential services, she said.
The statement came two years after the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion in July 2024 saying Israel's continued presence in Palestinian territories was illegal and that Israel was obliged to end it as rapidly as possible.
Recent incidents cited in the UN warning included deadly clashes last Friday between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. The Israeli military later raided Nablus and nearby towns as part of what it called a "counter-terrorism" operation. Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques overnight Sunday.
The warning followed a separate briefing to the UN Security Council on Tuesday by Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He said the situation in the occupied West Bank was "rapidly deteriorating".
Violence in the occupied West Bank has risen since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers, according to Palestinian figures. Official Israeli data shows at least 48 Israelis, civilians and security personnel, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Update
Ravina Shamdasani said settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, had attacked local communities, destroyed and confiscated property and burned mosques.
Shamdasani said movement restrictions were tighter and were blocking Palestinians from reaching essential services.
The item added population context for the West Bank, excluding annexed east Jerusalem.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 09:40:06 UTC.
Update
UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said eight Palestinians, including a boy, and two members of the Israeli military had been killed in the West Bank since last Thursday.
Shamdasani said the UN was alarmed by an Israeli government announcement to further increase settlements and outposts.
Shamdasani said Israeli leaders had made open calls for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 08:57:45 UTC.
Update
UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said settler attacks and the creation of settlements and outposts were hitting an all-time high.
Shamdasani called for third states to act urgently and in unison to halt the killing and dispossession of Palestinians and end the Israeli occupation.
The statement came two years after the International Court of Justice said Israel's occupation of the West Bank was unlawful.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 08:38:13 UTC.
Update
The United Nations said West Bank violence and annexation were "only getting worse".
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 08:32:49 UTC.
Update
Ramiz Alakbarov told the Security Council the West Bank situation was rapidly deteriorating.
Alakbarov said violence in the past week had caused civilian casualties, displacement, property damage and growing insecurity.
Alakbarov said Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian communities, homes, places of worship and civilian infrastructure had persisted at alarming levels.
Alakbarov urged Israel to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinian communities and ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
Alakbarov also condemned Palestinian attacks against Israelis and called on Palestinians to reject violence.
Alakbarov warned that wider escalation was increasingly likely unless immediate steps were taken.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 15:40:47 UTC.
Update
The Israeli military said late Sunday that troops had apprehended more than 130 wanted individuals across the West Bank over the weekend.
The military said those detained included weapons traffickers, Hamas operatives, people involved in incitement and people planning imminent attacks.
The military said troops operated at hundreds of locations and questioned hundreds of suspects.
The military said troops had mapped the homes of two Palestinians it identified as responsible for Friday's clashes.
A funeral was held Sunday for Major Yuval Ezra, one of the two Israelis killed in Friday's clashes.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 July 2026 at 19:41:47 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Casualty figures are attributed separately to Palestinian figures and official Israeli data.
Some allegations about attacks, property destruction and mosque burnings are UN or Palestinian official claims rather than independently established findings in the supplied material.
Source
AFP news report published on .