The violence comes as Israel continues its push to expand control over Palestinian territory in violation of international law.
Published On 23 Mar 2026
At least nine Palestinians have been injured as Israeli settlers rampaged through towns and villages in the occupied West Bank for a second night in a row.
A 45-year-old man was shot in the foot late on Sunday during a confrontation with Israeli settlers in Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus, the Wafa news agency reported.
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The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that a 47-year-old Palestinian man was attacked by settlers in Jabal al-Arma in Beita, while others were beaten.
Earlier, Israeli settlers set fire to homes and cars in two areas south of Jenin and vandalised property across the occupied West Bank.
Simultaneous attacks took place on Saturday night in at least six communities, including the villages of Silat ad-Dhahr and al-Fandaqumiya, both near Jenin; in Jalud and Salfit, both south of Nablus; and in the agricultural regions of Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that homes and cars were set ablaze, Palestinians were pepper-sprayed, and at least five people were wounded in the assaults, which took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Sunday night’s attacks came after settlers in the illegal Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh held a funeral for 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman, who was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area north of the villages attacked.
Israeli police said they were investigating the settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate.
The Israeli government is pressing ahead with new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, with attention shifted to the US-Israel war on Iran.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers so far this year.
Israel’s security cabinet last month ratified a series of decisions pushed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz, enabling Israel to claim large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” if Palestinians cannot prove ownership.
The Palestinian presidency condemned the decision in a statement, calling it a “grave escalation and a flagrant violation of international law” that amounts to “de facto annexation”.
Amnesty International said the expansion of illegal settlements and state-backed settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory were “a direct indictment of the international community’s catastrophic failure to take decisive action”.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2024 that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
The judges pointed to a wide list of policies, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians – all of which it said violated international law.
