Israeli settler violence in the West Bank at an all-time high. One in five victims is a child
Palestinian protest in the West Bank against land confiscation in favor of Israeli settlers Photo: Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP / Profimedia
Israeli settlers launched at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank during October, the highest number recorded in a single month since 2006, when the UN has been monitoring the figures, Reuters reports.
In a statement warning of escalating violence, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the attacks, which resulted in casualties and property destruction, were occurring at an average of eight per day.
“Since 2006, OCHA has documented more than 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place this year alone, which represents 15% of the total,” the statement said.
Home to 2,700,000 Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the center of plans for a future Palestinian state to coexist with Israel, but successive Israeli governments have expanded the settlements rapidly, fragmenting the territory.
The United Nations, the Palestinians and most of its member states consider the settlements to be illegal under international law, which Israel disputes. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank.
According to OCHA data, 42 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank this year. “This means that one in five Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2025 was a child,” the quoted source said.
Israel's UN embassy did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
The attacks in the West Bank come despite a US-brokered truce between Hamas and Israel in October to end fighting in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in an almost complete cessation of fighting and the surrender of hostages held by the Islamist group.
