Settlers are a community of Jewish Israelis who illegally expropriate and “settle” land in territory militarily occupied by Israel, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan. The reasons for this settlement are predominantly ideological, religious or economic. Ideologically driven settlers seek to strengthen Israel’s administrative standing in these occupied territories under the auspices of military and security needs. Religiously motivated Israelis become settlers to fulfill what they understand as a God-given right to reclaim the Biblical borders of the state of Israel. Economically driven settlers are motivated by the greater affordability of homes in Israeli settlements. In 2022, Israel’s settler population almost reached half a million people in the West Bank and around 330,000 in East Jerusalem. According to Art. 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all of these settlements are illegal, and constitute a war crime under international law.
West Bank — In the hills south of Hebron, 27-year-old Awdah Hathaleen raised his camera to document yet another incursion by Israeli settlers into his village lands. Within minutes, he lay fatally wounded, shot by a settler with a history of violent offenses. The killing, captured on video last month, is the latest in a surge of violence that Palestinian officials, human rights groups, and even some Israeli commanders now describe as “settler terrorism.”
For decades, extremist settlers have carried out attacks against Palestinian civilians: arson, shootings, assaults, and the torching of olive groves. But since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, the frequency and intensity of such attacks have escalated dramatically. According to the UN, settler assaults in the West Bank have risen from an average of three per day before the war to as many as seven daily incidents today.
“Functional” Violence
Settler violence is not random, analysts argue. “It serves a purpose: to push Palestinians off their land and expand settlements,” says Hagai El-Ad, former director of B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights group. Research by Yesh Din, another rights organization, shows that 93 percent of settler violence cases between 2005 and 2022 ended without charges, underscoring what Palestinians call a system of state-sanctioned impunity.
Foreign Policy recently described this violence as “functional”, tolerated by Israeli authorities when it aligns with broader strategic goals of territorial expansion. Only when attacks spiral out of control—drawing international condemnation—do officials denounce them as “rogue.”
Pogroms in Plain Sight
One of the most notorious recent incidents occurred in February 2023, when hundreds of settlers rampaged through the Palestinian town of Huwara, torching homes and businesses while Israeli forces stood by. An Israeli commander compared the rampage to a pogrom.
Similar scenes have since unfolded across the West Bank. In August 2024, masked settlers stormed the village of Jit, killing one resident and setting homes ablaze. Palestinian officials called it “organized state terrorism.” The U.S. and European governments issued sharp condemnations, but prosecutions remain rare.
International Alarm
The violence has drawn sharp rebukes abroad. The European Union has repeatedly called on Israel to protect Palestinians under its occupation, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the attacks as “intolerable.” Yet Western governments have largely stopped short of imposing consequences on Israel.
Meanwhile, Palestinians bear the brunt. “Our children are afraid to sleep at night,” says Fatima, a mother of three from a village near Nablus whose home was firebombed last winter. “We call for help, but no one comes.”
The cost of settler terrorism extends beyond immediate casualties. Fields are razed, wells poisoned, vehicles torched. Entire families are displaced, their livelihoods destroyed. A recent study by the International Crisis Group warned that unchecked settler violence is “transforming the West Bank into another Gaza,” marked by displacement, insecurity, and despair.
For many Palestinians, the message is clear: violence is not just tolerated, but woven into the machinery of occupation.
The Struggle for Accountability
The Israeli government has pledged to rein in “extremist elements” within the settler movement. But few here believe such promises. The Hathaleen family, mourning yet another son killed by settlers, say they have little hope that justice will be served.
“The settlers act like they are above the law,” says Awdah’s uncle, leaning against the ruins of a torched olive press. “Because for them, the law is the gun.”
Until that changes, settler terrorism will remain not an aberration but a defining feature of life under occupation — a violence that blurs the line between rogue extremism and state policy.
Sources: CJPME, Harvard International Review; AlJazeera; BBC
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