Israeli settlers exploit Israel's war on Gaza to attack in West Bank

In the early days of the war, four Palestinians were killed when settlers, accompanied by the military, invaded the village of Qusra in the southeast of Nablus Governorate.

Subsequently, during the funeral procession for these victims, settlers attacked again, resulting in the deaths of a father and his son.

Bilal Muhammad Saleh, a resident of Al-Sawiya village in the south of Nablus, lost his life to settler gunfire while he was picking olives from his land near the Rahlim settlement.

In a separate incident, settlers set vehicles ablaze in Deir Istiya village, located west of Salfit, and distributed leaflets that threatened citizens with a "second Nakba" unless they left the country for Jordan.

Additionally, dozens of settlers attacked Deir Sharaf village on the road between Nablus and Tulkarm, damaging several shops.

Ayman Soufan, a resident of the village of Burin in the Nablus district, told Al Majalla that, over the past year, attacks by settlers on his family had.

However, the situation reached a new level when a group of guards from the Yitzhar settlement arrived at his house after midnight during the latest Gaza war. They told him to vacate his home and threatened severe consequences for him and his family of 14, who reside on the outskirts of the settlement, if they failed to comply.

Ayman has faced a series of attacks, including vehicle and tree burnings; the latest involved intimidation and the prevention of his family from harvesting olives from trees near their home.

Nevertheless, he is resolute in his decision to stay, regardless of the outcome.

Coercion and relocation

Other settlers have succeeded in compelling residents from 15 communities to abandon their lands what is classified as Area C according to the Oslo Accords.

These areas are controlled by Israel both in terms of security and civil administration. Their residents have relocated to other towns, leaving behind their properties and memories alike.

Fayez Al-Tal, the head of the village council of Khirbet Zanuta in the southern part of Mount Hebron, situated within Area C, told Al Majalla that his family and 35 other families were forced to depart the village due to increased settler attacks on residents in the nearby outpost, along with an escalation in their incursions into the village, consisting of tents and tin houses, since 7 October.

"Our hardships have grown over the past three years following the establishment of the settlement outpost nearby," he said.

"Its founder started threatening us with eviction after taking control of livestock pastures and water wells, despite a precautionary order from the Israeli Supreme Court to maintain the status quo in the village."

He further noted that the war has heightened tensions and a desire for retaliation among settlers, who have received unwavering support from the right-wing Israeli government, leading to more frequent assaults.

As a result, village residents were forced to relocate to the outskirts of the town of Al-Zahiriya.

Settler attacks on Palestinian citizens during this time cannot be categorised as random occurrences.

Indeed, the current government's relatively restrained response, which can be attributed to their own interests and beliefs, paved the way for such incidents in the past.

Empowerment of settlers

The current government under Benjamin Netanyahu, who assumed office in December, which involves the most right-wing parties in Israel, namely Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben Gvir and Hatzionot Hadetit led by Bezalel Smotrich, reveals an unmistakable pattern.

Gvir has ties to the outlawed 'Kach' movement and has grown up among the Hilltop Youth—a group of young settlers establishing Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank without seeking permission from the Israeli government.

Smotrich, on the other hand, developed a 'Resolution Plan,' which advocates for the annexation of the West Bank, the expansion of settlements, and the undermining of the idea of a Palestinian state.

These right-wing allies have diligently worked to solidify their positions within Netanyahu's coalition by securing key ministries and decision-making roles that are important to their constituents, a substantial portion of whom are settlers, as well as among the broader Israeli population.

In his role as Minister of National Security, Gvir took charge of the police and was tasked with shaping their policies. He actively promoted the idea of Israelis arming themselves in response to increasing security tensions.

Meanwhile, Smotrich assumed the positions of Minister of Finance and a minister in the Ministry of Security, granting him authority over West Bank affairs. He used these roles to increase funding for settlements and to support settler-related initiatives.

A year of attacks

As a result of these developments, hostilities in the West Bank have persisted all year long. Direct confrontations have escalated between Palestinians, who have seen their hopes for a political resolution fade, and settlers backed by the new government.

On February 26, a shooting in the town of Hawara, south of Nablus, resulted in the deaths of two settlers. Following this, Minister Smotrich "liked" a post on X (then still Twitter) by one of the settler leaders calling for the removal of Hawara.

He later attempted to clarify his stance by stating that this responsibility lies with the government, not individual citizens, though he retracted his statements following domestic and international criticism.

Subsequently, Hawara witnessed a wave of settler attacks, including the burning of vehicles, homes, and shops, leading to heightened tensions.

This support from the government further emboldened settlers. Settler attacks on Palestinians became more frequent, some occurring with the presence of Israeli military forces who did not intervene to prevent or protect Palestinians.

National Security Minister Gvir made a statement on a local television channel, asserting that his right to move safely in the West Bank was more important than the rights of Arabs to free movement.

On another occasion, in the lands of Mount Sabih where settlers intended to establish the Evitar settlement, Gvir echoed what Ariel Sharon had told settlers in 1996, saying, "Run, seize the hills."

Impact of 7 October attacks

The surprise Hamas attacks on the southern regions of Israel on 7 October had a significant impact, not just on the Israeli leadership but also on the public.

At the time, Israel had already been experiencing internal divisions due to a government plan aimed at reducing the power of the judiciary.

After the attacks, criticism was levied against both the army and the government. Many accused them of failing to anticipate the events on the Gaza border.

Some officials and experts even suggested that the Netanyahu government had been too focused on managing the situation in the West Bank and ensuring the security of settlers, which may have distracted them from monitoring Gaza effectively.

Heavily armed

Simultaneously, there was a rise in unrest among the settlers, which manifested in increased attacks on Palestinians, particularly in Area C, constituting 60 per cent of the West Bank.

According to the Oslo Accords, these areas, where settlements are located, were supposed to gradually come under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.

However, this transfer of control did not occur, and settlers and their leaders continued to hold onto the dream of fully controlling and annexing these territories.

Despite ongoing settler attacks in the West Bank, the Israeli emergency government, under the leadership of Security Minister Yoav Gallant, has been primarily focused on managing the conflict in Gaza and dealing with what he described as 'human animals'.

This focus on Gaza has done nothing to curb settler attacks; if anything, settlers are more heavily armed now due to weapon distribution campaigns led by Minister Gvir.

Read more: With the rise in settler violence, are Israel's far-right groups actually militias?

Lack of solutions

While discussions about settler attacks have taken place at the war council level, with figures like Ronen Bar, the head of the General Security Service, and Herzi Halevy, the chief of the General Staff, expressing concerns about the potential increase in settler attacks, concrete actions on the ground to deter settlers have been limited.

Some minor measures have been taken, including deportation orders for certain settlers and short periods of administrative detention signed by the Minister of Defense against one of the Yitzhar settlers.

Notably, Gvir prevented the West Bank Police District Commander from attending a meeting with Gallant, where the police official was to be reprimanded.

On the international stage, Israel effectively directed attention to the events unfolding in its southern regions, gaining "legitimacy" for its actions in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the West Bank continues to experience casualties resulting from both military operations and settler violence.

American response

American officials have expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank on at least four occasions.

President Joe Biden was the first to speak out, likening settler actions to "pouring gasoline on fire."

The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also voiced deep concern about the increase in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, urging Israel to prevent such attacks.

Concurrently, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to put a stop to settler attacks, while other officials expressed their worries about the growing armament among settlers.

However, these calls and positions from Israel's major ally have largely gone unheeded.

Settler leaders dismiss these concerns as "leftist propaganda" and lay the blame for violence on the PLO and Hamas. Individuals close to Gvir rationalise settler actions as responses to Palestinian attacks.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people who have been displaced from their homes in Area C are increasingly concerned about the future.

They firmly believe that the notion of a second Nakba, which human rights organisations have warned the international community about, is a genuine threat.

Settlers see it as a way to establish sovereignty over the West Bank, undermine the concept of a two-state solution, and challenge the Palestinians' national aspiration for self-determination in an independent state.

These ideas align with Smotrich's Resolution Plan.

Alarming numbers

The Israeli Peace Now movement provides numerous examples of settlers exploiting the security situation to solidify their presence on the ground.

During the peak of the second intifada in 2002 and 2003, 43 settlement outposts were established, with the Avitar outpost in Mount Sabih emerging during Operation "Guardian of the Walls" or "Swords of Jerusalem" in 2021.

According to Peace Now statistics, the number of settlements in the West Bank has risen to 300, housing 465,000 settlers, whereas the figure stood at 128 settlements with 110,000 Israelis on the eve of the Oslo Accords.

This does not account for the significant increase in settlement activity in occupied East Jerusalem.

The conflict in Gaza will eventually come to an end. However, its consequences in the West Bank may persist.

The upcoming political phase in Israel is uncertain and could bring about significant changes at both the military and political levels due to the ongoing chaos, which provides fertile soil for establishing new realities on the ground.