Extremist Jewish settler attacks in the West Bank jumped 63 percent in the first half of 2026, with six Palestinians killed and 140 wounded — a sharp escalation from zero deaths and 82 injuries in the same period last year, according to security establishment figures reported by Kan public broadcaster.
The data, compiled by the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency, recorded 660 settler attacks classified as "nationalistic crime" between January and June 2026, up from 405 incidents during the first six months of 2025. Roughly 100 additional attacks were recorded in July alone, though those figures weren't included in the half-year totals.
Attacks on Israeli Forces Rise
Settler violence isn't limited to Palestinian targets. Attacks targeting Israeli security forces rose 50 percent, with 45 such incidents recorded in the first half of 2026. The report said these attacks occur on a near-daily basis, largely go unchecked, and prosecutions of Jewish extremists are rare while convictions are even rarer.
Critics have accused the government — described as the most hardline in Israel's history — of shrugging off the attacks. In March, the cabinet quietly approved a plan that included financial sanctions against violent Israeli hilltop youth, but it wasn't made public because of political considerations, according to Channel 13. During deliberations on the plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly referred to the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as a "metastasizing cancer."
A Pattern Since October 7
The report said settler violence has been on the rise in recent years, particularly after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on the second anniversary of October 7, 2023. The number of attacks by settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank rose 27 percent in 2025 compared with 2024, according to IDF and Shin Bet data.
Meanwhile, 2025 saw a decrease in Palestinian terror attacks, including knifings, shootings and car-rammings, continuing a downward trend in recent years. In 2025, 57 Palestinian terror attacks were recorded by the IDF, leading to the deaths of 20 people. Two soldiers were also killed in an attack carried out by a Jordanian at the Allenby Bridge Crossing less than one year ago in September. In 2024, the military counted 258 Palestinian terror attacks with 35 deaths, and in 2023, 847 attacks with 41 deaths.
The army attributed the downward trend in Palestinian attacks to "sustained offensive activity" in areas considered hotspots of terrorism in the West Bank, especially the refugee camps in the north of the territory.
Why This Matters:
The surge in settler violence reveals a deepening crisis in the West Bank where extremist attacks are becoming routine and accountability remains elusive. Six Palestinian deaths and 140 injuries in six months represent not just statistics but families destroyed, communities traumatized, and the rule of law eroding in occupied territory. When a prime minister privately calls settler violence a "metastasizing cancer" but his cabinet can't publicly announce measures to stop it, the gap between recognition and action speaks volumes. The fact that prosecutions are rare and convictions even rarer means impunity has become the norm. This isn't just a human rights crisis — it's a practical obstacle to any future peace. Every unchecked attack, every unprosecuted assailant, every family driven from their land makes the idea of two states sharing this territory harder to imagine. The international community has long condemned settlement expansion and settler violence as violations of international law, but without enforcement, those condemnations ring hollow while Palestinian farmers, shepherds, and villagers live with the daily reality of attacks that go unpunished.