Elham Asaad Buaras
Israeli authorities have closed more than 93 per cent of investigations into attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank without bringing charges, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) report released on August 1 has claimed.
The report, published by the PLO’s National Bureau for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance, accuses Israeli authorities of providing widespread impunity for settler violence.
It alleges the attacks are part of a coordinated policy involving Israeli settlers and the Israeli military, operating with the backing of the Israeli government.
According to the report, settler violence has intensified since the beginning of 2026, developing into what it describes as organised practices aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land.
The report accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of providing political backing for the attacks.
It says the violence is intended to force Palestinian farming, Bedouin and pastoral communities from their homes, enabling the seizure of their land.
Citing figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the report says more than 1,330 settler attacks have been documented in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2026.
The incidents reportedly included arson attacks on homes and mosques, damage to agricultural facilities and water networks, and assaults that forced Palestinian families to flee.
The Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements also said Israeli forces carried out around 12,500 attacks in the West Bank during the first 1,000 days of Israel’s war in Gaza.
According to the commission, those incidents resulted in the deaths of 82 Palestinians, sparked 890 fires, and saw the establishment of around 200 illegal settler outposts.
Official Palestinian figures also claim that since October 2023, more than 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, around 13,000 injured and 24,600 arrested in attacks involving Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank.
Israel has previously said it investigates criminal offences committed by Israeli civilians in the West Bank and has rejected broader accusations that it systematically enables settler violence.
Israeli violations against Palestinians continue.
