Settler violence in West Bank looms over Israeli election

A special report from the occupied West Bank has set out how illegal Israeli settlements and settler violence are forcing Palestinians from their homes and land, as Israel prepares for elections next week.

The report focuses on Umm Safa, a hilltop village surrounded by illegal settler outposts. It says six new outposts have been set up around the village since 2023. The UN has described Israel's expansion as a creeping annexation that is suffocating everyday life. Since the October 7 attack just over three years ago, the West Bank has seen an unprecedented growth in Israeli checkpoints and barriers, alongside a rapid expansion of unauthorised settler outposts. Under international law, settlements and outposts are illegal.

In Umm Safa, the school run now begins with a check because children are no longer allowed to make the one-minute walk on their own. A father says his son is very afraid and that he walks with the children every day. The village school has tried to drown out fear with a louder national anthem, but pupils are distracted by the settlers and the situation around the school. The report links the atmosphere to the death of a 14-year-old shot by a settler at a school not far away.

The village is cut off. The main entrance has been permanently sealed by the military, and Israelis from a nearby settlement have blocked access to a house on the outskirts. For Fatia, 67, this turns a dialysis appointment into a difficult journey. She travels to Ramallah three times a week and must cross checkpoints, get out of vehicles and change cars three times to reach hospital.

The report also describes a new settler arriving with a truck full of boxes, an indication of how quickly outposts are expanding. The military has barred the village from its land, so settlers have been collecting olives from areas the villagers cannot reach. One resident says: I try to keep my eyes closed because I don't want to end up crying over losing my land.

In a nearby village, identified in the report as Ter Messiah, roads are lined with Israeli flags. An olive harvest is under way, but after attacks by settlers in the past week the army has turned up. The report says the soldiers are not protecting the farmers. Farmers trying to reach their olives were moved on by settlers and the military earlier that day, and a second attempt is no better. Children in Umm Safa are stuck at home rather than helping with the harvest. One says an armed settler watches and films them, and that when the settler picks up his phone it feels like time to go back inside. The family sleeps in shifts through the night and watches from the windows.

The report comes before next week's Israeli election, the first since the October 7 attack just over three years ago. Settler violence is back in the headlines after attacks in the past week on an American journalist and some European diplomats. Benjamin Netanyahu has said the violence is the work of disruptive youths. But his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has openly boasted that the government has funded roads leading to unauthorised outposts and their connections to utilities. Others on the far right insist Israel should have full sovereignty over both the West Bank and Gaza. With elections close, Netanyahu needs support from that part of the right to form a winning coalition, while few candidates from the main parties are talking about improving relations with the Palestinians.