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ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials on Friday to address a rising wave of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, following fresh reports of settlers hurling stones at Palestinian vehicles and setting fire to a scrapyard in the village of Huwara.
The Associated Press (AP) reported on Saturday that the incident unfolded late Thursday when eyewitnesses saw settlers on an overpass targeting passing Palestinian cars with rocks. Moments later, a blaze erupted at a nearby scrapyard, sending flames and thick smoke into the evening sky.
Huwara Mayor Jihad Ouda confirmed the events, while the Israeli military said it received reports implicating Israeli civilians in the fire and was investigating the matter.
Mohammad Dalal, the scrapyard owner, said that the army eventually arrived to disperse the assailants.
“If the army had not removed them, they would have done even more. These settlers are causing destruction everywhere here. Where can we go? We want to remain steadfast on our land, no matter what,” he said.
The United Nations humanitarian office reported 29 settler attacks across the West Bank from November 11 to 17, which resulted in 11 injuries and damage to ten homes, two mosques, nearly two dozen vehicles, and crops, livestock, and approximately 1,000 trees.
According to UN figures, Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Palestinians in the West Bank this year, including 50 children.
Two Palestinian youths, aged 18 and 16, were also reported killed overnight by Israeli gunfire, though the circumstances of the shootings remain unclear. Israeli police did not immediately comment.
At the security meeting, attended by representatives from the military, Shin Bet, and police, Netanyahu and officials discussed the recent surge in settler violence and potential measures to curb it.
Proposals reportedly included requiring violent settlers to attend educational programmes, though details of the discussions were not publicly released. An Israeli official said a follow-up meeting would be held.
Settler violence has intensified in recent months, coinciding with the Palestinian olive harvest season, and shows little sign of abating.
Netanyahu has described the perpetrators as “a handful of extremists” and urged law enforcement to hold them accountable, but rights groups and Palestinians contend that the attacks are widespread and increasingly routine.
Huwara has repeatedly been the target of settler attacks. In February 2023, settlers set fire to dozens of homes and vehicles following the killing of two settlers by a Palestinian gunman, resulting in at least one Palestinian death and multiple injuries.
The Israeli Civil Administration has also announced plans to expropriate approximately 450 acres at Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank, which Peace Now described as the largest seizure of archaeologically significant land by Israel to date.
Meanwhile, the government, dominated by far-right figures including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Cabinet Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, continues to back settlement expansion, heightening tensions.
In an international response, Singapore announced targeted financial sanctions and entry bans on four Israeli settlers, including Meir Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Ben-Zion Gopstein, and Baruch Marzel, citing their involvement in “egregious acts of extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
The Foreign Ministry urged the Israeli government to halt the attacks and hold the perpetrators accountable. - November 22, 2025