Under the guise of the war on Gaza, settler violence and confiscation of Palestinian land have dramatically expanded, both in terms of geographic scope but also in intensity. While neither feature is unique or new, the magnitude is unprecedented.
Since the swearing in of the current Knesset coalition at the end of 2022, it has been an explicit national priority to support the settlement movement, and two key ministers were put in positions to accelerate this. Member of Knesset Bezalel Smotrich was installed as the Minister of Finance (as well as a secondary portfolio in the Ministry of Defense) and MK Itamar Ben-Gvir was installed as the Minister of National Security. It should be mentioned that while these two MKs are the spearheads, they do it within a coalition of full support, up to and including from Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Likud party, and by many elements of the opposition as well.
What these two have been able to do in just 3.5 years, to support the settler movement, cannot be overstated, and is likely more destabilizing and altering than any other government coalition since 1967. Smotrich has been able to funnel many tens of billions of shekels to the settlement enterprise; building new roads, expanding settlements, funding herding outposts, and allocating budgets to private security and weapon procurement. Itamar Ben-Gvir has been instrumental, on a de facto level, to altering and loosening the rules of engagement, creating a system of absolute impunity for those who engage in violence against Palestinians, and dramatically limiting the recourse for Palestinians who are the victims of settler/army violence. These actions have incentivized, a radicalized sector of mostly, but not exclusively, ideological settlers to conquer more Palestinian land, knowing the government will “have their backs,” fully.
2026 is on pace to be the worst year on record in terms of settler violence. Fatalities linked to settler attacks by mid-July, have already surpassed 2025 numbers. The number of injuries by settler attacks has grown by 200% from 2020 to 2025, and another 50% from 2025 to 2026.[i] As well, settler violence has become the largest driver of Palestinian displacement, beating out demolitions for two of the past three years.[ii]
The result of this wanton violence has been the dramatic creation and expansion of settlements and outposts across the West Bank, including in Area B (there have been recent attempts to do so in Area A as well). There are now over 360 outposts in the occupied West Bank, up from 129 in 2022.[iii]
Hence it should surprise no one that a recent settler incursion to the Palestinian village of Tell resulted in the killing of four Palestinians and two Israelis, one a soldier and one a settler, plus an additional two Palestinians later in the day in the village of Beit Furik. Emboldened settlers, armed with automatic rifles and under army protection, have been proactively and provocatively invading Palestinian villages across the West Bank. Sometimes as a show of force, sometimes to conduct religious rituals (which are usually followed by land confiscation), and other times simply to elicit a response through provocation and vandalism, such as torching Palestinian agricultural lands or mosques.
In this specific instance, in the Palestinian village of Tell, a group of 50 settlers conducted an uncoordinated incursion by embarking on a provocative “hike” through the village. When Palestinian villagers formed a blockade to stop them, armed Israeli security guards began to assault Palestinians with their rifles. Shots were fired by settlers (and possibly but unconfirmed, by soldiers as well). In the scuffle, one Palestinian grabbed the weapon of an Israeli guard and shot him dead. Soldiers opened fire, killing the Palestinian gunman and three others in the general vicinity. The second Israeli was killed by friendly fire, likely by another soldier.
Since the incursion and subsequent killings, settlers have been going on a rampage attacking dozens of villages as “revenge.” Various Israeli ministers from across the coalition and opposition have been calling for a violent response on the village of Tell, surrounding Palestinian communities, and even the Palestinian collective at large.
This is hardly surprising, unfortunately. Impunity, whether in the war on Gaza or with military and settler attacks in the West Bank, has completely inundated Israeli society from government leaders to the general public. Accountability is not only absent on a structural level, but there is strong public support for minimizing accountability even more, especially when it comes to Palestinians. Even a change in government, which is possible to happen at the end of October, will not change this reality.
