Israeli Settler Violence Escalates, Surpasses Alleged U.S. Pressure on Netanyahu Government

Settlement Weekly Report 4 – 10 April, 2026

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that EuroNews, one of the most widely followed news networks in Europe, headquartered in Lyon, Paris with a main newsroom in Brussels, the capital of the EU revealed a document which said it had obtained exclusively. The document indicates that the office of Israeli PM Netanyahu issued a -dir-ective to the Israeli army and police, calling for measures to curb settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, adding that this -dir-ective falls within an unpublished document titled ‘Prime Minister’s -dir-ectives on Combating Nationalist Crimes in Judea and Samari i.e. the Hebrew name for the West Bank. In what is considered an unusual step, the -dir-ective calls on the Israeli army to redeploy part of its forces from the Lebanese front to the West Bank with the aim of restraining violence by Jewish settlers.’
According to Euronews, Netanyahu s -dir-ective, issued during the last Security Cabinet meeting on March 25, stipulated ‘reinforcing the Israeli army s presence in the West Bank to bolster the fight against nationalist crimes and ensure an effective troop presence in areas of friction. It also emphasized that no new settlement outposts would be permitted in Area B, as defined in the agreements signed between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, which is under joint Palestinian and Israeli control. The network noted that Netanyahu had previously condemned settler violence, but consistently described it as the work of a few extremists rather than a widespread phenomenon, making this policy shift and troop deployment all the more striking.
The -dir-ective also calls for imposing economic sanctions on settlers who illegally establish new outposts, given the costs incurred by the Israeli army in dismantling them. It further calls on government ministers to support the "fight against nationalist crimes in Judea and Samaria, seemingly at odds with both Finance Minister and Minister of Settlement Affairs in the Ministry of Army, Bezalel Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Gafni that encourages settlement expansion, at a time when several European countries have imposed sanctions on the two ministers, including travel bans.
The network adds that the facts prove the responsibility of these Hilltop Youth for establishing settlement outposts on private Palestinian land, in addition to carrying out attacks against Palestinians, vandalizing and looting their property, and violently confronting Israeli army and police forces during the evacuation of these outposts. It cites the ‘OCHA’ as having documented more than 1,800 attacks and the displacement of approximately 1,600 Palestinians during 2025, and the killing of about 240 Palestinians by settlers´-or-the army during the same year.
The Israeli Maariv Newspaper, in conjunction with Euronews reported that following escalating US criticism of settler violence in the West Bank, Washington sent a strongly worded message to Israel stating that statements from the Israeli government were no longer sufficient and that concrete steps were needed to address the phenomenon. The steps included imposing a ban on Israeli construction in Area B, the immediate evacuation of any construction in the area in violation of regulations, and the imposition of economic sanctions and fines on violators. The report indicated that the government yielded to US pressure and kept its decision private for obvious political reasons, but simultaneously informed the US administration immediately, which expressed satisfaction with this approach.
Regardless of the extent of US administration intervention and pressure on Netanyahu s government to rein in settlers in the West Bank, their violence and terrorism are provoking a growing reaction within liberal Jewish circles worldwide. Prominent leaders in the so-called Jewish diaspora have called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to intervene to stop attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, following a recent escalation of Israeli terrorism.
This appeal came in an open letter signed by more than 3,000 people, including former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, along with diplomats, rabbis, and academics from Australia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The letter was organized by the London Initiative, a liberal Jewish network of some 360 Jewish and Israeli figures, following a series of killings and arson attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinian civilians during March.
The letter asserted that Israeli security forces are capable of protecting Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, who live under varying levels of Israeli military and civilian control, from settler terrorism. It indicated that the lack of decisive action reflects the absence of clear government -dir-ectives. The letter, released to coincide with Passover, emphasized that ‘the terror, death, and destruction inflicted by Israeli Jewish extremists on innocent Palestinians throughout the West Bank is abhorrent.’
It argued that these practices are not only a moral stain but also a strategic threat to Israel’s future, damaging its relationship with Jews worldwide, particularly future generations. The letter concluded that the situation on the ground, coupled with statements from some of the more extreme members of the governing coalition, leads to the conclusion that the aggression in the West Bank is not only being tolerated but may even be part of an established policy.
The letter follows a previous one addressed to Israeli PM Netanyahu in August 2025, signed by some 6,300 Jews from around the world, which called for the resumption of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, an end to the war, and the application of Israeli law in the West Bank. The latest letter noted that the situation has deteriorated since then, particularly with regard to attacks by settlers and their supporters, which reached unprecedented levels during the recent war with Iran.
The office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded to the letter via the ‘X’ platform, referring to what it described as the recent escalation of violence by extremist elements in the West Bank, and to the serious crimes committed against innocent people. Herzog claimed that he shared the signatories’ conviction that these acts contradict Israeli values and the moral traditions of the Jewish people, and stressed that he had instructed the relevant authorities to use all available means to hold those responsible accountable and put an immediate end to this phenomenon.
Indeed, according to many sources, settler terrorist groups carried out 638 attacks on Palestinian citizens and their property during the past month of March, an increase of 177% compared to the same period last year, 2025. These attacks resulted in the martyrdom of ten Palestinian citizens: three in the Nablus Governorate, two in the Hebron Governorate, 2 in the Ramallah Governorate, 1 martyr in the Salfeet Governorate, and 2 martyrs in the Jerusalem Governorate. 190 citizens were injured as a result of being attacked with gunfire, beatings, and stone-throwing, including 11 children and 7 women. The attacks included the destruction and uprooting of 729 fruit trees, the theft of 1,255 livestock, and damage to about 84 vehicles as a result of burning´-or-stone-throwing. Four homes and a large number of agricultural facilities were also burned.
Giving the impression that the occupation authorities are expanding the activities of what they call ‘law enforcement agencies’ to curb settler violence, the Israeli police, responsible for law enforcement, announced last Sunday the arrest of eight settlers suspected of involvement in an attack on the town of Qusra in the Nablus Governorate. In a statement, the Israeli police said that eight "suspects," aged between 13 and 48, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in an attack and arson in the town of Qusra, located southeast of Nablus.
A group of settlers, under the protection of occupation forces, attacked the southern part of the town, severely beating a young man and burning two livestock pens. This police announcement is merely a smokescreen. The terrorist groups of the Hilltop Youth and Price Tag never leave this town´-or-the surrounding area, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with the occupation army. Last January, settlers established a new pastoral settlement outpost on the summit of the strategic Ein Eina mountain between Qusra and Talfit, south of Nablus, and erected tents and communication towers.
The goal is to seize thousands of dunams of agricultural land in the villages of Talfit, Qusra, Jalud, and Qaryut. Since the establishment of that cursed outpost, the situation in the area has not calmed down, and settler attacks on citizens have escalated. A number of martyrs have fallen in Qaryut and Qusra, and the game continues. The occupation army dismantles the tents and towers, and as soon as it turns its back, the settlers return to erect them again and launch attacks from them to continue attacking the residents of the aforementioned villages, and so on.
On another level, the Civil Administration of the occupation army, which is controlled by Bezalel Smotrich, issued last week an executive order targeting the lands of the village of Al-Jib, northwest of Jerusalem, in a move that falls within expansion plans that threaten to confiscate large areas for the benefit of settlement. According to an announcement published by the official in charge of ‘Government and Absentee Property’ in this administration on March 11, a ‘temporary use plan’ was approved for land classified as state land in the village, paving the way for its exploitation for settlement purposes.
The announcement stated that the targeted area is 6.83 dunams, located in Basin no. 3 in the ‘Bedouin Plot’ area, and that Palestinian landowners were given 30 days to submit their objections. The plan also includes imposing new security measures in the area, particularly at the intersection leading to the settlements of ‘Giv on Hadasha’ and ‘Har Samuel’ in addition to modifying the route of roads used by settlers between bypass roads 4362 and 4360, while a tunnel designated for Palestinian traffic runs beneath it, connecting several villages northwest of Jerusalem.
This comes as part of a broader plan that includes the construction of 800 settlement units on 268 dunams of land belonging to the villages of Al-Jib and Nabi Samuel, with the aim of expanding the "Har Samuel" settlement. This falls within the ‘Givat Ze’ev’ settlement bloc, which includes 11 settlements on an area of 30,000 dunam inhabited by about 29,000 settlers. It is one of the most prominent blocs targeted within the ‘Greater Jerusalem’ plan, which aims to link the settlement blocs surrounding the city and effectively annex them through the separation wall and urban expansion.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Carrying out provocative marches in the Silwan Neighborhood, chanting racist slogans and attacking Palestinian property with stones. The actions coincided with heightened security restrictions imposed by Israeli occupation forces on the movement of Palestinians in Jerusalem.
- Forcing brothers Nader and Hatem Baydoun in the Bustan Neighborhood to demolish their homes, claiming they were built without permits. Similarly, Jerusalemite Ahmed Shahada Qwaider was forced to demolish his home under the same pretext.
- Attacking Palestinian property in the Mazari area of Mikhmas village, aiming to force residents to leave.
- Attacking Palestinian land in Khirbet Hamdan, west of Beit Iksa, removed a gate and destroyed a drinking water well.
Hebron:
- Attacking residents of the Um Khair village in Masafer Yatta, prevented them from grazing their sheep.
- Storming the Hamroush community north of Hebron, spreading out around residents homes. They carried out a similar raid in the Beit Roush village south of Hebron.
- Attacking the Zuweidin village, released their sheep into agricultural lands, damaging crops and causing financial losses for farmers.
- Injuring 2 Palestinians and a foreign solidarity activist in an attack by settlers from the Ma on settlement in Masafer Yatta.
- Assaulting Ahmed Barghash Shawahin family, while they were grazing their sheep in the Wadi Jawaya area, and also attacked two foreign activists. The attack resulted in injuries to brothers Hamza and Saddam al-Shawahin and the foreign activist.
- Stealing Hamza Shawahin s phone and the foreign activist s phone in the Fatih Sidra area of Masafer Yatta, attacked shepherds and assaulted 2 brothers, Mah’d and Moh’d Farid Hamamda, 11 and 13 years old, and attempted to steal their sheep.
Bethlehem:
- Attacking citizen Moh’d Hisham Shalalda, who suffered fractures in his foot and severe bruises all over his body as a result of a violent attack by settlers on his house at the entrance to the village of Marah Rabah. He was transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital to receive the necessary treatment.
- Uprooting scores of grape and olive saplings on their lands near the settlement outposts surrounding the Al-Khader town.
- Stoning Palestinian vehicles on the bypass roads near the ‘Gush Etzion’ settlement south of Bethlehem. Settlers also stormed the Al-Bariyah area in the village of Al-Rashayda and attacked shepherds and tried to steal a number of livestock, but the residents confronted them.
- Attacking shepherds in the vicinity of farmer Dheeb Shalalda’s house in the village of Al-Minya Al-Qarn, east of Sa’ir.
- Constructing a settlement road in the lands of the town of Tuqu’ in the eastern region, starting from the settlement of Tekoa “A”, reaching the Tuqu’ wilderness. This road extends for about 10 km near the homes of citizens, and if completed, it will lead to the seizure of vast areas of land, the uprooting of large numbers of olive trees, the denial of farmers’ access to their lands, the destruction of the water network, and the separation of the town from the wilderness in general.
Ramallah:
- Confronting settlers attempting to storm the eastern plain in the Al-Mughayyir village, while others attacked the town of Turmus Ayya amidst gunfire, uprooting 400 olive trees.
- Attacking Palestinian-owned land after storming the Khallat Zayed area in the Al-Lubban Al-Gharbiya village, grazing their cattle on the land and uprooting 180 newly planted olive saplings.
- Storming the Yabrud village, assaulted a resident and stealing 15 sheep belonging to Suleiman Daoud and his son, Alaa. S
- Attacking Palestinians between the villages of Deir Ibzi’ and Saffa while they were on their land. Other settlers attacked Palestinian property east of Kafr Malik village and set fire to a bulldozer belonging to a resident in the Sheikh Zaid area, east of Kafr Malik.
Nablus:
- Attacking the Qusra town, south of Nablus, targeted its southern and western areas. The attack resulted in serious injuries to a young man, Zahran Moh’d Shanableh, and the burning of 2 poultry farms, causing significant material losses. Tear gas canisters fired by Israeli occupation forces to protect the attackers caused 10 Palestinians, including 7 children, to suffer from suffocation.
- Bulldozing operations to construct a settler road linking the Havat Gilad settlement to a neighboring outpost in the area between the towns of Asira al-Qibliya and Immatin. They destroyed large areas of land planted with olive trees and seasonal crops in an attempt to impose a new geographical reality that connects settlements and isolates hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land, preventing Palestinians from accessing it.
- Attacking a young man in the area between the town of Aqraba and the village of Yanun. Others abducted 14 years old Asid Mah’d from the Qaf area north of the village of Qabalan and took him to the nearby Itamar settlement.
- Burning a house, two tents, and three vehicles in the Lubban Sharqiya town, assaulted residents, and attempted to steal sheep from the area.
- Injuring a woman in a settler attack after they stormed a house and sprayed pepper spray in her face, causing her to suffer from suffocation in the village of Burin.
Jenin:
- Injuring 2 Palestinians in an attack by settlers in the Jaba town, south of Jenin. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews transported two injured individuals to the hospital after they were assaulted by settlers in the quarry area of the town.
- Attacking farmers from the village of Zabda, preventing them from accessing their land.
- Storming the Al-Jarba area near the town of Arraba, vandalized and provoked residents. Similar incidents occurred in the villages of Masliya and Raba, and the town of Zababdeh, where settlers roamed Palestinian-owned land and committed acts of vandalism.
Jordan Valley:
- Attacking Palestinian tents and homes in the Wadi al-Faw area, harassing shepherds and threatening to kill them if they continued grazing their livestock there.
- Establishing an outpost between the villages of al-Aqaba and Tayasir, east of Tubas, posing a threat to surrounding Palestinian lands, increasing settler control over the area, and obstructing Palestinian access to their lands and farms.
- Attacking a Bedouin community near the concrete factories on the western outskirts of the Auja village, stealing a tractor and a truck, and vandalizing property. The young man, Ala’a Khaled Subaih, was killed by settler gunfire during clashes that erupted near the outpost in Tayasir village, and his body was seized.
- Storming the Malih hot springs and performed Talmudic rituals there. In the Arab Kaabneh community, west of the Auja village, settlers stole ten head of livestock belonging to Suleiman Mleihat.
- Assaulting a young man while he was working on his farm In the village of Al-Aqaba, east of Tubas.
- Attacking 5 families to leave their homes near the cement factories west of the village of Al-Auja.
Qalqilia:
- Assaulting elderly Palestinian woman Sabriya Jabr Shamasneh, who succumbed to her injuries after being brutally attacked by Israeli occupation forces in the Jayous town, raided the family home, where soldiers severely beat the woman, leading to her hospitalization. Doctors later announced her dead from her injuries and bruises.

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