Israeli settler violence rises in West Bank amid Iran war restrictions

ABU FALAH, West Bank: Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has increased after Israel imposed movement restrictions following the start of the war with Iran, according to rights groups and medics.

Israel blocked many roads across the West Bank with iron gates and earth mounds on the first day of the war on February 28 and has largely shut crossings with Israel.

The Israeli military says the restrictions are precautionary measures while it carries out airstrikes on Iran and against the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has fired missiles at Israel in support of Tehran.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least five Palestinians have been killed by settlers in the West Bank since the United States and Israel began airstrikes on Iran. Israeli rights group B’Tselem said a sixth man died after inhaling tear gas during one of the attacks.

Palestinians in remote villages say the roadblocks have left them increasingly exposed to settler violence while also delaying ambulances from reaching the wounded.

Pre-dawn attack

Two Palestinians were shot dead before dawn on Sunday in Abu Falah, north of Ramallah, residents and Palestinian health authorities said.

Malak Beirat said her husband, Thaer, was among those killed. “Thaer loved life. I never expected he would die,” she said while sitting with her two children.

Witnesses told Reuters that more than 100 settlers gathered on the outskirts of Abu Falah, prompting villagers to mobilise through a local WhatsApp group to defend the area. The confrontation initially involved stone throwing but later escalated when armed settlers arrived and opened fire.

Villagers said Thaer Beirat was shot while trying to protect a house from attack.

Bloodstains were still visible in nearby olive groves a day later, where villagers raised two Palestinian flags to mark the spots where the victims were killed.

A third Palestinian later died after the attack, with B’Tselem saying his death was likely caused by tear gas fired by Israeli troops deployed to the village.

The Israeli military said an investigation had been launched and that it condemns “violence of any kind.”

Delays for medics

Medical workers say new roadblocks have slowed emergency response times.

“There are obstacles — and even attacks by settlers and the military on medical crews,” said Ahmed Jibril, spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service.

Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said more than 109 incidents of settler violence — including shootings, assaults, property damage and threats — have been recorded in the West Bank since the start of the war with Iran.

B’Tselem said all Palestinian deaths caused by settlers this year occurred during the past week.

The Palestinian health ministry said settlers shot dead Amir Muhammad Shanaran near Hebron on Saturday. Brothers Muhammad and Fahim Azem were also shot dead in Qaryut, southeast of Nablus, last Monday.

In three of the shootings, settlers were reportedly wearing Israeli army uniforms, according to Yesh Din. The Israeli military has not immediately commented on the claim.

Palestinians accuse the Israeli military of protecting settlers rather than villagers, an allegation the military denies.

According to Yesh Din, indictments in cases involving settler violence are rare. By the end of 2025, only about 2 per cent of the hundreds of documented cases since the October 2023 attacks by Hamas had resulted in indictments.

Settlement expansion

The United Nations says nearly 700 Palestinians were displaced by settler violence between the start of 2025 and early February 2026.

Israel has also continued expanding settlements in the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the construction push aims to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.

Right-wing minister Yossi Dagan announced on Wednesday the establishment of a new settlement overlooking Nablus, one of 22 new settlements approved by the Israeli government last May.

Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem — territories captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.

More than 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank alongside over 3 million Palestinians, according to a 2024 report by the European Union.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a view Israel disputes.