Why are Israeli settlers on a rampage in the occupied West Bank?
Settlers torch two mosques in the Palestinian territory as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu threatens âmore broad actionâ. Israeli settlers, backed by the military, have been
Settlers torch two mosques in the Palestinian territory as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu threatens âmore broad actionâ. Israeli settlers, backed by the military, have been on a rampage in the occupied West Bank, torching at least two mosques and detaining dozens of Palestinians days after killing four of them. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been on edge for the last two days after Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinians in the town of Tal, near Nablus, during a settler incursion on their land. Two Israelis were also killed in the confrontation. Here is what to know about the tensions in the West Bank Whatâs happening? Last Friday, nearly 30 settlers entered Tal, next to the illegal Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad, and tried to break into two houses when residents confronted them. The settlers opened fire. A video shows a Palestinian man seizing a rifle from a settler and shooting him before soldiers shoot him dead. Three others were killed and four people wounded. Following the killing of two Israelis, the military deployed additional troops across the occupied Palestinian territory. After vowing to avenge the killings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military âis prepared to act more broadly in terrorist strongholdsâ.
âThe instructions we gave were to enter villages, search them, seize weapons and make arrests,â Netanyahu told reporters. Which mosques were torched? Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the village council in Qusra village southeast of Nablus, said Israeli settlers torched a mosque early on Sunday, as attackers sprayed slogans in Hebrew on its walls with messages, including âJewish revengeâ and the name of one of the Israelis killed near Tal. âThe village has faced repeated attacks since 2011, and these attacks have increased since the war [on Gaza],â Wadi told Reuters news agency. Palestinian officials said settlers also tried to burn a mosque near Kour, southeast of the city of Tulkarem. Farid Jiyousi, a member of the village council, said three settlers tried to set the mosque ablaze at dawn, but worshippers put out the fire before it reached the main area of the mosque. âThis is the first attack our village has experienced,â he said, adding that the attackers had also sprayed graffiti in Hebrew on the mosque walls. A surveillance camera captured the moment Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.
The video, published on local social media accounts, shows settlers attacking the house and setting part of it ablaze. The settlers then fled after setting the house on fire, while Palestinian residents managed to control the fire and to limit the damage. How many settler attacks were reported? Israeli Army Radio reported at least 30 settler attacks across the Palestinian territory since Friday. Overall, such attacks have surged 63 percent in the first half of 2026, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing security data, with at least 660 incidents recorded as opposed to 405 in the second half of 2025. âDuring the weekend, an unusual number of 30 nationalist crime incidents were recorded in the territories,â it said. Since October 2023, at least 1,185 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including 250 children. At least 87 Palestinians have been killed so far in the territory in 2026, including 21 killed by settlers. âLast night was a sleepless one for Palestinians across the occupied West Bank. People are basically under lockdown, isolated, unable to call the firefighters, unable to call for any help or protection â not from the Palestinian police and certainly not from the Israeli army that accompanies the settlers,â Al Jazeeraâs Nour Odeh said, reporting from the West Bank.
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