Israeli occupiers caused 89% of West Bank property fires since 2023, commission says

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Friday that Israeli occupiers were responsible for nearly 89% of fires targeting Palestinian homes, buildings and vehicles in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2023, documenting a sharp escalation in arson attacks over the past three years.

Fire incidents surge since 2023

In a report covering the period from January 2023 to July 10, 2026, the commission recorded 900 separate fire incidents targeting Palestinian property. Occupiers carried out 799 of these attacks, accounting for 88.8% of the total, while the remaining 101 fires were attributed to the Israeli army, according to the documentation.

The data reveals a steady annual increase in attacks, rising from 217 fires in 2023 to 264 in 2024 and 307 in 2025. The commission documented 112 additional incidents between the start of 2026 and July 10 alone, with Nablus and the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorates recording the highest concentrations at 281 and 271 fires respectively.

Displacement and 'environment of enablement'

The violence has displaced more than 6,200 Palestinians from 121 communities during the same period, including over 3,000 children, with 46 villages completely emptied of residents. The commission attributed the attacks to a "government environment of enablement" that protects occupiers and contributes to impunity, noting that illegal settlement outposts have increasingly served as launch points for arson, road closures and restrictions on land and water access.