The West Bank: Between Settler Aggression and Occupation Support – 2025 Highlights

In the occupied West Bank (oWB), the violence committed by Israeli settlers is no longer a series of isolated, random attacks; it has effectively become a de facto policy enforced through the use of force on the ground and enabled by the absence of legal accountability from the Israeli occupation authorities. Israeli settlers have, in practice, become unofficial instruments of the occupation, carrying out daily violations against Palestinians and aimed at intimidating Palestinians, terrorizing them, and seizing their land.

These violations do not target Palestinian citizens alone; they also extend to the seizure of private and public land and property—including the burning and destruction of homes and vehicles—the destruction of natural resources and agricultural lands (including the destruction and uprooting of crops and trees), and attacks on livestock, all as part of a deliberate policy to undermine Palestinian livelihoods, particularly agriculture, which represents a cornerstone of Palestinian resilience.

In parallel, Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank continues at an accelerated pace through the establishment of illegal outposts, the expansion of existing settlements, and the seizure of Palestinian land by force or through various military orders. The outposts often begin with just a few caravans and gradually develop into permanent settlements, supported by infrastructure provided by right-wing settler groups that back the appropriation of land in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian citizens are prevented from accessing, cultivating, or using their lands adjacent to these outposts for any purpose, effectively allowing settlers to take control over time.

Table 1 illustrates the settlement activities carried out by Israeli settlers during the year 2025, which resulted in the establishment of 65 new outposts in the occupied West Bank. Of these, 20 were in the Nablus governorate, followed by 14 in Ramallah, and eight in each of Hebron and Salfit governorates, respectively.

Israeli Settler Attack

In 2025, there was a significant increase in the frequency of violations committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, impacting every aspect of Palestinian life—from individuals and communities to public and private property, as well as historical and religious sites and natural resources. These violations encompassed the seizure of water springs, attacks on livestock, and assaults on the agricultural sector, particularly during the olive harvest season.

Field data from the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) indicate that Israeli settlers committed approximately 3,000 violations in 2025, reflecting a continued escalation compared to previous years. Many of these violations directly targeted unarmed Palestinian civilians through physical assaults and intimidation, restrictions on movement by blocking roads and entrances to Palestinian communities, and attacks on Palestinian vehicles  traveling along Israeli bypass roads with stones—creating a daily reality of fear and insecurity.  The chart below illustrates the scale of settler violations in the occupied West Bank during 2025.

Figure 1: Israeli settler Agression in the occupied West Bank – 2025 Highlights

Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron ranked as the most affected by settler violations, in that order. These figures go beyond mere statistics, revealing the daily hardships faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where such violations are closely linked to a systematic settlement policy aimed at displacing Palestinians from their homes and imposing a harsh reality on the ground. 

Compared to previous years, 2025 stands out as the most escalated year in terms of the number of violations committed by Israeli settlers in the oWB, not only in terms of scale but also in terms of the nature of these violations. While settler violations in previous years were largely concentrated around the “olive harvest season,” 2025 saw a significant shift: : attacks occurred daily across multiple areas of the West Bank, including assaults with weapons, more extensive destruction of private property, and the establishment of additional pastoral outposts, leading to the seizure of more Palestinian lands.

These violations reflect a shift by settlers from a policy of intimidation and terror to one of enforcing a “fait accompli” on Palestinian land through the use of force. This escalation is further reinforced by the lack of punishment or legal accountability from both the Israeli occupation authorities and the international community, which encourages the repetition and continuation of such violations. As a result, 2025 is considered as the most violent year to date, marking a “new phase” of systematic settler escalation that forms part of an ongoing policy aimed at reshaping

In Conclusion

The violations carried out by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank against Palestinian citizens, land, and property represent a continuous breach of international law. They constitute a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, particularly Article 49, paragraph 6, which “prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into the territory it occupies or from exercising repression against the indigenous population.”

The ongoing Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian civilians, their property, and land, combined with impunity and the absence of legal accountability, turn these violations into a systematic tool for imposing an unlawful reality in the occupied Palestinian territory. This threatens the fundamental rights of Palestinians, foremost among them Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dated December 10, 1948, which states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”

Prepared by:  
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem