Israeli occupation’s aim is ethnic cleansing by any means possible

Every minute of every day there are numerous Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians taking place somewhere in the occupied West Bank.

Many attacks involve direct violence, but settlers also intimidate, steal and destroy land and property.

Their purpose, by whatever means possible, is to steal Palestinian land for the Zionist’s colonial project of a “Greater Israel”, in the occupied Palestinian territory. And they have the full support and protection of the occupation’s police, military and government.

Here are just a few of the recent attacks on Palestinians by these illegal settlers…

Israeli settlers terrorise towns and villages

On 19 May, settlers and the occupation’s military stormed Madama, a town south of Nablus. They entered an area classified as ‘Area B’ under the Oslo Accords and vandalised property.

The following day, they destroyed parts of the town’s electrical network, including electricity poles.

A few days later, Israeli occupation soldiers raided the village, forcing shop owners to close their businesses.

No access for medics and ambulances

On 30 May, in the early morning, there was a coordinated attack.

Armed settlers assaulted residents with clubs and live ammunition, and targeted their homes. The occupation’s soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas, while the settlers attacked residents. They prevented ambulances from reaching injured people, as commonly happens. Dozens of sheep were also stolen.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that the attack hospitalised at least seven Palestinians. They were beaten with clubs, hit on the head with rocks, and shot at.

The settler attack in Madama was just one of several taking place in the Nablus district that day.

Settlers also raided the Jabal Bir Quza area in the town of Beita, in south Nablus. Video footage shows them wielding clubs and throwing rocks at a house. They also smashed the windows of several cars.

The moment Israeli settlers launched an attack on the Jabal Bir Quza area in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, vandalizing and setting residents’ property on fire. pic.twitter.com/mHcl4tA2uL

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) May 30, 2026

Israeli settlers carried out another attack on the Bir Quza area of Beita, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Dr. Rabee Shourfa, Deputy Mayor of Beita, described the damage inflicted on residents property during the raid. pic.twitter.com/B6ETz7aaeh

— Government Communication Center (@pal_gcc_en) May 31, 2026

Settlers from the same outpost attack again

Then, in the evening, the settlers targeted Palestinian-registered vehicles on the road between Beita and Awarta.

They sprayed adults and children with pepper spray, and attacked homes in Ras al-Ein, in the village of Qusra.

One resident was stabbed while trying to defend his home before being taken to hospital with moderate injuries. This resident was the cousin of Amir Odeh, 28, who was shot in the chest and killed in the same area in March by settlers from the same outpost.

When Amir’s father, Mutasem, went to his aid, he was beaten unconscious with a stick and stabbed in both legs. Amir was pronounced dead before he arrived at hospital in Nablus.

Northwest of Ramallah, settlers also pushed a car off a slope, near the village of Deir Abu Mashal. Soldiers had chased it while it was on a nearby road. Soon afterwards, the car stopped and parked.

Settlers then beat the driver while he refused to hand over his keys. In retaliation, they pushed his car down a steep slope and left the scene without being stopped by the soldiers.

No action from authorities

Recently, there have also been many arson attacks on Palestinian agricultural land, by both the occupation’s army and settlers.

In Duma, near Nablus, settlers arrived on all-terrain vehicles, which the occupation’s government supplies. They blocked the only village entrance and then burnt olive trees and agricultural produce.

The army was there but did nothing to prevent the attack or arrest the illegal settlers.

A new outpost has now been set up on land belonging to Abu Falah, north-east of Ramallah.

Settlers set fire to agricultural land planted with olives on the outskirts of the village. Several hours later they set fire to the land again, this time next to a chicken shed.

Soldiers did nothing to prevent the crime or help put out the fire.

Abu Falah is the neighbouring village to al Mughayyir, which has also experienced numerous fires over the past weeks. Settlers shot at villagers while they tried to extinguish the flames.

In Saffa, west of Ramallah, Israeli occupation forces set light to land planted with wheat, olive trees and figs. The fire burnt more than 15 hectares of land. When residents and volunteers attempted to extinguish the fires, the occupation opened fire.

Disregard for Oslo accords

The occupied West Bank is divided into three administrative zones — Area A, B and C — according to the Oslo Accords.

In Area A, the Palestinian Authority (PA) officially has full civil and security control. In Area B, the PA must coordinate security with the Israeli occupation, while Area C is under full “Israeli” control. But the occupation wants to control all of the West Bank and steal as much Palestinian land as possible. It is doing this in a variety of ways.

The aim of the occupation is to control all of Area C, significantly expand Israeli occupation settlements there and declare “Israeli” sovereignty over the entire area.

In February this year, the security cabinet officially began the permanent acquisition and registration of title deeds in Area C. The PA has issued deeds and documents for decades to help local communities record their land rights, but the occupation has refused to recognise any of these.

It now says any Palestinian land in Area C lacking formal private ownership documentation from the Israeli occupation registry system — an institution designed to exclude them — belongs to the Israeli occupation government. But displacement, document loss and lack of recognition by Israeli courts, mean few Palestinians have this documentation. 

Oslo Accords under threat

Members of the Knesset have also recently introduced legislation to formally scrap the Oslo Accords. They propose to replace the existing framework with full Israeli occupation sovereignty over Palestine. The aim is to block the establishment of a Palestinian state and encourage settlements in Areas A and B.

For decades, settlement outposts were almost exclusively established in Area C, but since October 2023, there has been a shift. There is now a push by the occupation to establish new outposts in Area B and, in some cases, even inside Area A — areas supposedly under at least partial Palestinian control.

Settler outposts extending into Areas A and B, ensure intimidation and settler attacks towards Palestinians do not only occur in Israeli occupation controlled Area C, but throughout the occupied West Bank. The eventual aim of the criminal Zionist regime is to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land, ethnically cleanse the territory, and steal it for themselves.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

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