U.N. Warns of Rising Settler Violence

PHOTO CAPTION: Activists protest violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 28, 2026. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

GENEVA, July 29 — The U.N. human rights office warned Wednesday that violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank is worsening and called for international action over the killing of Palestinians and the continued expansion of settlements.

The office said settlement activity had reached an all-time high.

According to U.N. figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed this year in incidents linked to settler attacks, compared with 17 in all of 2025.

The Palestinian Authority has put the toll higher, saying at least 20 Palestinians have been killed by settlers since the start of the year.

The U.N. highlighted a deadly incident last Friday near the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of Nablus. Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed when a crowd of Israeli settlers, some armed, approached the village. One of the soldiers acted as a security coordinator for a nearby Israeli settlement.

“Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

The Israeli government and military did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The U.N. human rights office said settler violence and what it described as actions amounting to ongoing annexation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank have worsened in the two years since the International Court of Justice ruled in July 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and the settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn.

Israel rejected that ruling at the time as “fundamentally wrong” and one-sided.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, with the United Nations, rights groups and Palestinian officials reporting a sharp increase in settler attacks.

Earlier this month, Israel’s security cabinet approved 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) to establish 34 new settlements in the West Bank.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who supports full annexation of the West Bank, called the move “historic.”

U.N. bodies, Palestinians and most countries consider the settlements illegal under international conventions, a position Israel disputes. They also view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace.

Israel says it has biblical and historical ties to the land and argues that the West Bank is disputed territory where Jews have lived for thousands of years.

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

(Source: Reuters)