Israel Report: Settler violence in the West Bank increased by 25 percent in 2025
According to a report, the number of attacks by radical Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has risen by 25 percent in the past year. This was reported by the newspaper "Haaretz", citing figures from the Israeli defense apparatus.
12.01.2026, 19:37
SDA
In response to an inquiry, Israel's army said: "Over the past year, both the extent and severity of violence by settlers has increased." The military did not want to make its own figures public.
Since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, there have been more than 1,700 attacks, Haaretz reported. According to the figures, more than 200 people were injured and four killed in 845 incidents last year alone. In 2024, 149 Palestinians were injured and six killed in 675 attacks.
Reasons for the increase in settler violence
The increase is not only due to more individual acts, but also to larger, organized groups that receive support from politicians and well-known far-right activists, the report states, citing army sources. Reference was also made to the spread of so-called farms, the total number of which has risen from around 30 before the Gaza war to more than 120 at present.
According to the Israeli organization Betselem, these are agricultural areas in the West Bank over which settlers - unlike settlements, for example - take control without official Israeli permission. Haaretz pointed out that the people living there often led attacks on Palestinians.
"Anyone who ignores the establishment of almost 100 new farms since the start of the war should not be surprised at the increase in nationalist clashes and crimes," the newspaper quoted a senior defense official as saying.
