UN says Israel protects settlers in attacks in occupied West Bank
Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks that have killed, injured and displaced Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, while Israeli security forces provide protection to settlers, a UN investigation said on Tuesday.
The report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that Israeli authorities allowed settler attacks through financial and military support, in a climate of impunity fostered by judicial and police bodies.
The report states that attacks against Palestinian villages and farmland have increased by 130% since 2023, including incidents involving groups of masked attackers. According to the report, Israeli security forces routinely accompany settlers and serve as a shield against violence.
The Israeli prime minister's office and military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel rejects accusations that its troops protect settlers during attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, saying such actions are isolated incidents that violate military protocol and are being investigated.
Israeli and Palestinian rights groups say such investigations rarely result in punishment.
Thousands of Israeli settlers live among millions of Palestinians on land Israel captured in the 1967 war, where the Palestinians hope to build a state.
Most countries and the UN's top court consider these settlements a violation of international law, which Israel disputes, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Israeli flag at settlement in occupied West Bank - 16/08/2020 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
At least seven Palestinians were killed and 832 injured last year, and violence continues into 2026 in the form of almost daily attacks, according to the United Nations.
"The increasing involvement of Israeli security forces in settler attacks amounts to a de facto collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers," the report concluded.
It has been asserted that this violence has been used to further state policy, including the illegal occupation, displacement of Palestinians and the annexation of Palestinian territory.
The Commission documented cases of assaults, kidnappings and abuse of Palestinian children by settlers.
In an incident that occurred on April 19, 2025, a 12-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother were kidnapped at knifepoint, dragged to an olive grove and tied to a tree with plastic cable ties until their family intervened.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and its settlements there are illegal and must be suspended as soon as possible, this being its most damning conclusion to date on the conflict.
The Commission also stated that the settlers committed or threatened to commit sexual violence to incite fear and harassed Palestinian women.
"Israeli settlers' daily and relentless attacks on Palestinians are intolerable - and must end," said commission head S. Muralidhar, a former senior Indian judge. He urged the international community to pressure Israel to dismantle settlements and outposts and curb violence.
Despite periodic condemnations and the dismantling of some unauthorized outposts, Israeli authorities have not taken consistent action to stop the attacks, the report said.
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Source: CNN