Settler Violence Forces Palestinians Out of 66 West Bank Villages — Israeli Generals Call It 'Ethnic Cleansing'

Settler attacks have surged across the occupied West Bank over the past year, with documented incidents including physical assaults, home demolitions, and mass property destruction. In one recent case, masked settlers beat a Palestinian woman and four NBC News journalists in the village of Jalud, near Nablus, leaving three reporters injured and the woman hospitalized [231223]. The attack came after the woman told the crew that settlers had forced her family from their home [231223].

The village of Qusra saw a similar assault the same day, when dozens of masked settlers sprayed Palestinian workers with pepper spray and threw stones at a building [231223]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the violence, blaming "a handful of rioters who break the law" [231223]. His rare public rebuke followed an earlier settler raid on Qusra homes that drew criticism from Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog [230726][230707].

Rights group B'Tselem documented that Israeli forces have demolished entire villages, including Khirbet al-Taban in the southern West Bank, where all homes were leveled and about 70 Palestinians, including 28 children, were displaced [233472]. The group described the demolitions as "forcible expulsion" and said the pattern spans 66 villages across the territory [233472].

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that Israeli actions caused 89% of property fires in the West Bank, documenting 900 fires since the start of 2023 [230116]. Three governorates—Nablus, Ramallah, and al-Bireh—account for more than 61% of recorded cases [230116].

Israeli forces also killed two 19-year-old Palestinians during a military raid on the village of Al-Mughayyir, north of Ramallah, according to Palestinian officials [233453]. The deaths add to a rising toll in the territory [233453].

Former Israeli generals and intelligence chiefs are now speaking out publicly. One former general said settler attacks on Palestinian villages, often under state protection or tolerance, amount to forced displacement [231555]. "Once a society behaves this way, that society is doomed," he warned [231555]. The officials argue that government support—through funding, military protection, or political cover—has turned extremist settlers into a powerful force dictating policy on the ground [231555].

Yair Golan, a former minister and head of the centre-left Democrats party, said "Jewish terrorism in the West Bank endangers Israel's security" and accused Netanyahu of allowing the "anarchy" to continue [231223]. Gadi Eisenkot, a former defence minister, called the events "a shame in terms of security, leadership, policy and values" [231223].