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Attacks by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank rose 63% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, a Palestinian government agency said Monday.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it recorded 4,113 attacks from January through July, up from 2,524 during the same period in 2025—an increase of 1,589 incidents.
The commission said the increase coincided with the expansion of illegal settlement outposts, particularly pastoral outposts, as well as the arming of Israeli settlers and the incorporation of some into security formations.
It also cited Israeli military protection and declining accountability, saying weak international deterrence had helped turn attacks from isolated incidents into what it described as an organized tool to impose new realities on the ground and push Palestinian communities toward displacement.
The commission said Saturday that the occupied West Bank contained 592 illegal Israeli settlements and outposts, while Israel controlled about 42% of the territory.
It estimated that around 780,000 Israeli settlers were living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, by the end of July. Of those, 333,600 lived in settlements in Jerusalem and 446,400 elsewhere in the West Bank.
According to official Palestinian figures, Israeli military and settler attacks in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war have killed 1,182 Palestinians and injured more than 12,000.
Around 24,000 Palestinians have also been arrested during the same period, the figures showed.
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