Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank continues to escalate, a report released on Tuesday by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry shows.
Last year, settlers killed at least seven Palestinians and injured 832 others, meaning that the number of victims has more than doubled compared to 2024, according to the report, which was presented to the UN Human Rights Council.
In July 2025, settlers - accompanied by Israeli soldiers - attacked Palestinians as they were tending their fields. One farmer was killed by a shot to the head, and another was beaten to death. “This trend continues in 2026 with attacks carried out daily,” the UN stated.
According to the report, Israeli authorities enabled these attacks through financial and military support. Israel’s judicial and law enforcement agencies, in turn, have granted impunity for settler violence for decades.
UN calls for stronger international pressure on Israel
"The relentless, daily assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are intolerable – and must end. Israel must stop supporting this violence and ensure that its security forces safeguard the Palestinian civilian population," said UN Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar.
"The international community must exert concerted pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law and to take immediate decisive action to dismantle settlements and outposts, and end settler violence once and for all," he added.
Israel regularly dismisses criticism of settlers’ actions against Palestinians in the West Bank as unfounded.
Since the unprecedented Hamas massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the resulting Gaza war, violence by radical settlers against Palestinians and their property has increased significantly. Israeli media sometimes even refer to this as "Jewish terror."
