The West Bank: settler violence and impunity
Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 7 October 2023, and on B'Tselem's count one Israeli has been charged over such a killing in that time.
About three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank outside East Jerusalem, alongside more than 500,000 Israelis in settlements that international law treats as illegal. Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians there since 7 October 2023, on the Israeli rights group B'Tselem's count. The UN humanitarian office OCHA recorded 77 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers between January and 25 July 2026, 18 of them children. Three Israelis were killed by Palestinians over the same period.
OCHA counted 1,835 settler attacks in 2025, after a rise every year since 2023. The UN put the first four months of 2026 at about 190 attacks a month, a pace it said would take the year past 2,000. The UN human rights office says nearly 700 Palestinians in nine communities were driven from their homes by settler attacks in those four months. It also says settlers and Israeli security forces have often acted together to attack Palestinian communities, and that settlers have financial incentives from the Israeli government.
Israeli forces raided Qalandiya refugee camp near Jerusalem on 6 August 2026 and demolished shops by the Qalandiya checkpoint. They then imposed a curfew on the neighbouring town of Kafr Aqab and sealed the roads to Jerusalem. At least 51 Palestinians were injured, the Jerusalem Governorate told Al Jazeera, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society said 35 were hospitalised after severe beatings. A United Nations commission of inquiry concluded in June 2026 that Israeli authorities have repeatedly failed to prevent foreseeable settler attacks and to investigate and punish those responsible.
On 27 July 2026 the UN said Israel had announced measures to accelerate the legalisation of farm outposts in the West Bank and establish new ones. Secretary-General António Guterres repeated that all settlements, outposts included, have no legal validity and are a flagrant violation of international law. Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, holds authority over civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank. Al Jazeera reported in August 2026 that he has approved, legalised or re-established more than 104 illegal settlements and 160 agricultural outposts.
Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, monitored police files on ideologically motivated offences by Israelis against Palestinians between 2005 and 2025. Of them, 93.6 percent closed with no indictment and 3 percent led to a full or partial conviction. Prosecutors charged the settler Yinon Levi on 6 August 2026 with reckless manslaughter over the killing of activist Awdah Hathaleen in July 2025. B'Tselem said it was the first time since 7 October 2023 that an Israeli had been indicted for killing a Palestinian in the West Bank.
”I hope that it will be a turning point for more severe enforcement of the law in the West Bank against Jewish terrorists”
The numbers
What the comparison shows
Where they agree
The family's lawyer credits the indictment to video evidence and to constant pressure on the police and prosecutors, and says the family did not leave them to do what they wanted. B'Tselem says the impunity Israel grants is designed, not accidental. On both accounts the charge came from outside pressure rather than from the process working.
Where they split
The split is over whether one charge changes how the law will be enforced, and whether it should have been brought at all. The family's lawyer hopes it is a turning point for enforcement in the West Bank. B'Tselem's spokesperson calls it the exception that proves the rule, and says the impunity Israel grants soldiers and settlers is a central part of policy rather than a failure of the system. The charged settler says prosecutors should not penalise acts of self-defence, and that charging him is de facto support for terrorism.
What nobody is saying
The August indictment is not the first time a state has singled out Yinon Levi. The United States and other Western countries sanctioned him in 2024 over allegations of violence toward Palestinians, AP reported. President Donald Trump lifted the US sanctions after taking office the following year. The one measure already applied to this settler was undone before Israeli prosecutors ever filed a charge.
Who says what
Says the impunity Israel grants to soldiers and settlers who harm Palestinians is not a failure of the system but a central part of a policy designed to let the violence continue.
”The decision to indict Yinon Levi is the exception that proves the rule.”The decision to indict Yinon Levi is the exception that proves the rule.
Says her office is alarmed by Israel's announcement of more settlements and outposts, and by open calls from Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment.
”We are alarmed by the Israeli Government's announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza”We are alarmed by the Israeli Government's announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza
Hopes the case leads to tougher enforcement of the law in the West Bank.
”I hope that it will be a turning point for more severe enforcement of the law in the West Bank against Jewish terrorists”I hope that it will be a turning point for more severe enforcement of the law in the West Bank against Jewish terrorists
Says he will fight for his innocence in court, that prosecutors should not penalise acts of self-defence, and that in charging him they are giving de facto support to terrorism.
”de facto support for terrorism”de facto support for terrorism
Our coverage
- Israel charges a settler over a Palestinian activist's killing, the first such indictment since October 2023Saturday, 8 August 2026
- Israeli raid on Qalandiya in the occupied West Bank injures 51 PalestiniansFriday, 7 August 2026
- Guterres: fast-tracking West Bank outposts is a flagrant violation of international lawTuesday, 28 July 2026