The Jewish People Policy Institute found that about one-third (33%) of Israelis describe Jewish rioters in the West Bank village of Kusra as "Israeli terrorists," while another 18% call them "nationalist criminals." Support for the rioters is minimal at 5%, and only 13% gave sympathetic descriptions. Views vary sharply by politics and ethnicity — 63% on the left and 55% of Arab Israelis use the term, compared with 3% on the right and 27% of Jewish Israelis. The survey (Sept. 1–3) polled 663 Jewish and 206 Arab respondents and did not publish a margin of error.
Poll: One-Third Of Israelis Call West Bank Settler Rioters 'Terrorists' As Public Condemnation Widens
Settlers near Kusra blocking a road with rocks. (photo credit: VIA WALLA)
A new survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) finds that about one-third of Israelis describe Jewish rioters involved in recent unrest in the West Bank village of Kusra as "Israeli terrorists." An additional 18% characterized those involved as "nationalist criminals," underscoring broad public condemnation of the incidents.
Survey Results and Public Reaction
JPPI President Yedidia Stern said the findings demonstrate that the rioters are outliers in Israeli public opinion. "Support among Israelis for the Jewish rioters in the West Bank is truly negligible, at just 5%," Stern said. "More than half the public judges them very harshly, as terrorists or criminals, while others view them with varying degrees of severity. This represents an unusually broad consensus in Israel's polarized society."
Only 13% of respondents chose one of the two most sympathetic descriptions — either "young people who sometimes go too far" or "the salt of the earth."
Political and Ethnic Divides
Views varied sharply by political affiliation and ethnicity. Among respondents on the left, 63% described the rioters as "Israeli terrorists," compared with 49% in the political center and just 3% on the right. Arab Israelis were more likely than Jewish Israelis to use the term (55% vs. 27%).
Footage showing extremist settlers running in the West Bank village of Kusra, August 12, 2026. (credit: screenshot/section 27a copyright act)
The Kusra Incident
The survey referenced a recent incident in Kusra in which, according to the Israeli military, dozens of masked men in pickup trucks arrived, threw stones at Palestinian residents and barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while members of the family remained inside. Several Palestinians were wounded; the rioters fled when security forces arrived and, according to the report, no arrests were made. The Kusra episode followed weeks after another confrontation in which settlers erected an unauthorized outpost beside Palestinian homes. At the time, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee condemned that earlier incident as a "horrific act of terror" intended to "intimidate and harass" families.
Government Response and International Pressure
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from the Trump administration and European nations to crack down on the rioters. Netanyahu, mindful that his coalition includes far-right parties with varying sympathies toward the rioters, had until recently resisted strong action; earlier this month he ordered the removal of some outposts associated with the rioters.
Methodology
The JPPI survey was fielded Sept. 1–3 among 663 Jewish respondents and 206 Arab respondents and was weighted to represent Israel's adult population. JPPI did not publish a margin of error.
Note: All percentages and incident details are reported as provided by JPPI and the cited military statement.
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