Israeli President Isaac Herzog and military chief Eyal Zamir publicly condemned a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, calling the attacks 'shocking' and urging decisive state action. Reports include a mosque near Salfit vandalised with flammable material and racist slurs, and settlers setting fire to vehicles and property in villages such as Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf. Palestinian and monitoring bodies reported 2,350 incidents last month, with many concentrated in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, and groups warn attacks often spike during the olive harvest. Authorities said four Israelis were arrested, while observers accuse some settlers and forces of driving Palestinians from their land.
Herzog and Army Chief Condemn 'Shocking' Wave of Settler Violence in the West Bank
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and military chief Eyal Zamir publicly condemned a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, calling the attacks 'shocking' and urging decisive state action. Reports include a mosque near Salfit vandalised with flammable material and racist slurs, and settlers setting fire to vehicles and property in villages such as Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf. Palestinian and monitoring bodies reported 2,350 incidents last month, with many concentrated in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, and groups warn attacks often spike during the olive harvest. Authorities said four Israelis were arrested, while observers accuse some settlers and forces of driving Palestinians from their land.
12:47 PM, 11/13/2025Conflict
Israeli president and army chief publicly denounce rising settler attacks in the occupied West Bank
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir this week issued rare, forceful public condemnations of a growing wave of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, calling the incidents 'shocking and serious' and urging decisive action by state authorities.
According to the Wafa news agency, a group of settlers vandalised a mosque near the town of Salfit on Thursday. Citing a local activist, Wafa reported that settlers poured flammable material at the mosque entrance and scrawled racist slurs on its walls; residents extinguished the flames before the building was severely damaged.
Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinian villages on Tuesday, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashes with Israeli soldiers. In a social media post Herzog said the violence, committed by a 'handful' of perpetrators, 'crosses a red line' and called on 'all state authorities' to act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon.
Eyal Zamir: 'We are aware of recent violent incidents in which Israeli civilians attacked Palestinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them. The military will not tolerate criminal behaviour by a small minority that tarnishes the law‑abiding public.'
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio also voiced concern that escalating settler violence in the West Bank could spill over and complicate efforts to stabilise the wider Gaza ceasefire. 'We don’t expect it to, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen,' Rubio told reporters after a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting.
In the incidents on Tuesday, settlers attacked the villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, torching four dairy trucks, farmland, makeshift tin shacks and tents used by a local Bedouin community. Palestinian official Muayyad Shaaban described the violence as part of a campaign to displace Palestinians and accused Israeli authorities of affording settlers protection and impunity.
Israeli police said four Israelis were arrested in connection with what they described as 'extremist violence.' A video verified by Al Jazeera shows multiple vehicles burning as Palestinians attempt to extinguish the flames. The assaults even included an episode in which settlers attacked Israeli soldiers and damaged a military vehicle — a relatively rare confrontation given reports that settlers often operate with impunity and, in some incidents, with military presence nearby.
The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC) reported last week that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 2,350 incidents across the West Bank in the previous month. The CRRC said Israeli forces were responsible for 1,584 of those events, including direct physical assaults, home demolitions and the uprooting of olive trees, with the bulk of recorded incidents concentrated in the governorates of Ramallah (542), Nablus (412) and Hebron (401).
Human rights groups note that settler attacks often intensify during the olive harvest (September–November), a critical income period for many Palestinian families. Israeli organisation B’Tselem said settlers assault Palestinians 'daily,' listing shootings, beatings, threats, stone‑throwing, torching of fields, destruction of trees and crops, theft of produce, road blockades, home invasions and vehicle burnings.
Israeli settlements are Jewish‑only communities built on territory Israel captured in 1967; they are widely regarded as illegal under international law. Today between roughly 600,000 and 750,000 settlers live in more than 250 settlements and outposts across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, many located close to Palestinian towns and villages and contributing to chronic tensions and movement restrictions.
Settlers are frequently armed and are often accompanied by, or in proximity to, Israeli security forces. Beyond property destruction, settler violence has in some cases included arson attacks and killings of Palestinian residents. Authorities’ responses, arrests and public condemnations by senior officials this week reflect rising domestic and international concern about the trend.