Israeli settlers attack activists and volunteers in West Bank community

Illegal Israeli settlers attacked activists and foreign volunteers early Thursday in the Bedouin community of Shallal al-Auja, located north of Jericho in the eastern occupied West Bank, as reported by local media. The assailants, originating from nearby settlement outposts, raided the area and targeted individuals who were present to help protect Palestinian residents, according to Hassan Mleihat, director of the Bedouin rights organization al-Baydar.

Confrontation and Broader Pattern of Violence

Mleihat told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa that activists and unarmed villagers confronted the settlers, ultimately forcing them to retreat from the area. Wafa did not specify the nationalities of the international volunteers involved. This incident is part of a wider, escalating pattern of settler violence; the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that settlers carried out 621 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank in November alone.

Mounting Casualties and International Legal Context

The violence in the West Bank has resulted in severe casualties since October 2023, with more than 1,087 Palestinians killed and over 10,700 injured in attacks by both the Israeli army and settlers, alongside more than 20,500 arrests. This persistent conflict occurs under an occupation that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared illegal in a landmark advisory opinion last July. The ICJ called for the evacuation of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a ruling that underscores the contested status of the territory where such attacks frequently occur.