The Israeli army acknowledges the escalation of settler terrorism in the West Bank.

The Israeli military acknowledged a sharp increase in settler terrorism in the occupied West Bank. Its data showed a 30% increase in "nationalist crimes" committed by Jews in the occupied West Bank during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year.

According to Israeli occupation data reported by the Israeli Army Radio, 414 terrorist attacks by settlers have been recorded since the beginning of the year, compared to 318 in the corresponding period of 2024, and 679 attacks in all of last year.

These attacks include arson, racist graffiti, stone-throwing, physical assaults, and vandalism. A senior army officer confirmed that "the increase is not limited to the number alone, but also includes the severity of the incidents," which have become more violent and extreme.

The release of this data comes in the wake of violent attacks carried out by settlers and members of the "Hill Youth" last weekend in the Ramallah area, targeting Israeli soldiers, according to Army Radio and Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday.

The details of the incident, according to the army's account, include groups of settlers attempting to run over soldiers, assaulting them, strangling one of them, vandalizing military vehicles, setting fire to a police building in the area, writing "revenge" slogans on the building, and puncturing the tires of police vehicles.

"These events have crossed all red lines," a senior officer told Army Radio, warning that they "could ignite a long-term wave of violence in the West Bank."

Although the army asserts that its forces "acted with restraint and limited themselves to means of dispersing demonstrations, including firing warning shots into the air," the official narrative has been subjected to a campaign of skepticism from leaders on the Israeli right.

Finance Minister and cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich considered that "the live fire directed at Jews is a serious transgression that requires a thorough investigation and individual conclusions," despite the army's assertion that "no live fire was directed at settlers at the scene."

The army's initial investigation showed that "reserve brigade forces did not fire live ammunition," but indicated that a 14-year-old boy may have been injured at another location, where "masked men threw stones at a military vehicle, and soldiers responded by firing three warning shots into the air."

In contrast, the commander of the reserve battalion (7114), a reserve colonel (C), criticized the political officials who try to criticize the army and provide political cover for the attacks. He told Yedioth Ahronoth: “We were hit with stones, a young man personally attacked me, we saw them strangling a soldier, attacking a vehicle, puncturing the tires of vehicles, and threatening us with death.”

He pointed out that the discussion was about settlers involved in the terrorist attack on the village of Kafr Malik near Ramallah, and claimed that "90% of the battalion's time today is devoted to preventing acts of violence by the Hilltop Youth," rather than "focusing on protecting the settlements as it is supposed to."

He stressed that the attacks were not a spur-of-the-moment attack, but rather "the same people who previously documented the burning of Kafr Malik village participated in them," adding that he was "insulted, spat on, and called a Nazi," asking, "Is this the support we receive after decades of service?"

According to another army officer, most of the attackers "are not residents of the West Bank, but rather came from other areas." He noted that the unauthorized settlement outpost established near the Ba'al Hazor base two weeks ago was built on private Palestinian land. He added that armed and masked settlers attacked the nearby village of Kafr Malik last week, burning homes despite the army's attempts to stop them. This led to a clash in which live ammunition was used, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians.

The attack sparked outrage within the Israeli security establishment, which, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, expressed "concern over the lack of clear condemnation from settler leaders, compared to their quick condemnation of the army for allegedly shooting a Jewish boy before investigating the circumstances." The official silence was described as "implicit encouragement for the continuation of these actions."

In contrast, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) condemned the attacks, saying, "Anyone who raises a hand against a soldier or attempts to run them over deserves no protection." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir also condemned the attack on the IDF, with the latter affirming his "full support for the forces."

The Israeli military often only releases this information after its soldiers are directly attacked, while ignoring the systematic escalation of violence against Palestinians, including murder, arson, looting, and "price tag" attacks, which have been increasing for months under the military's own protection.