UN warns West Bank settler violence hits ‘all-time high’ as calls grow to end occupation

Violence in the occupied West Bank is worsening as the Israeli Government continues to approve new settlements while settlers and Israeli security forces have “often” acted together to attack local Palestinian communities, the UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) warned on Wednesday.As of 24 July, the agency reports that 76 Palestinians and one Israeli have died this year in settler attacks. Since Friday, eight Palestinians, including a boy, and two members of the Israeli military have also been killed in the region.The number of settler attacks has increased each year since 2023 following the brutal Hamas attacks on southern Israeli communities, rising to 1,835 last year, according to the UN’s humanitarian aid office (OCHA). There were about 190 attacks per month in the first four months of 2026, putting the West Bank on a trajectory to reach more than 2,000 attacks by the end of the year.Alongside security forces, Israeli settlers in the West Bank, with financial incentives from the government, frequently attack families, burn mosques and destroy and confiscate property, OHCHR reported.Movement restrictions preventing Palestinians from accessing essential services are now tighter tha...