On July 21, three American volunteers were evacuated to a hospital in Nablus after being attacked by Israel settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra. Israeli authorities at the location failed to arrest the assailants.
The Palestinian Red Crescent accused the Israeli army of preventing medical teams from reaching the injured. Human Rights Watch said Israeli soldiers are participating in West Bank settler attacks.
Joe Biden’s Executive Order targeting those “undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank” is too narrow to address Israeli settler violence, yet so broadly written it will likely be used disproportionately against Palestinians.
Reports emerge of Israeli snipers killing Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza, as U.N. Security Council gears up for vote on Gaza ceasefire, amid fears that continued U.S. support for Israel could thwart any diplomatic intervention.
Israeli forces have killed over 250 Palestinians since Friday, including devastatingly deadly strikes in Khan Younis and Jabalia, as humanitarian agencies condemned the resumption of mass killings.
Since October 7, Israeli settlers and military have been terrorizing Palestinian communities across the West Bank. At least 10 villages in the South Hebron Hills have been displaced through violence, and over 120 Palestinians have been killed.
Amid the Jewish holiday season, Palestinians across the occupied territory pay the price, as settlers increase their attacks and the military and police restrict Palestinian access to holy places.
For many Israelis, killing Palestinians with impunity is a state-sponsored sport.
The Israeli state sees violent settler mobs as challenging its monopoly over violence. This puts right-wing ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir in a bind: settlers facilitate the settlement project, but the state wants to control it.
The transfer of unprecedented powers over the occupied West Bank to Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich has deepened the rift between Israel’s military-security establishment and the rising settler bloc.