The West Bank tally is the highest in monitoring dating to 2006. During 20–26 October, attacks targeted 49 Palestinian communities, mostly as people harvested olives.
Israeli settlers carried out 397 attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank in October 2026, the highest monthly count since monitoring began in 2006. Al Jazeera said, citing Palestinian news agency Wafa’s account of monitoring by OCHA, the United Nations humanitarian office.
Israel captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the June 1967 Six-Day War and has militarily occupied it since then.
Between 20 October and 26, 2026, settler attacks targeted 49 Palestinian communities, mostly while Palestinians harvested olives on their land. During that week, settlers and Israeli forces injured 57 Palestinians, including 9 children.
| Cause | People injured |
|---|---|
| Israeli military gunfire and physical assaults | 34 |
| Settler attacks | 23 |
Analysis
Settler violence escalated further in the West Bank alongside the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
In its 30 September 2026 assessment, ACLED attributed the surge to rapid expansion of farming outposts, greater integration of armed settlers into local security structures and weak law enforcement. Farming outposts let small groups of settlers establish a presence over large surrounding areas, bringing them closer to Palestinian villages and creating new flashpoints, it said.
Andrey Khrzhanovskiy and Jasper Nathaniel were released on 29 October after the attack near Umm Al-Khair. Nathaniel said a judge barred them from the West Bank for two months.
ACLED documented attacks on farmers and herders, destruction of olive trees and crops, land seizure and looting of crops and livestock. It said losing access to land weakens livelihoods, increases displacement risks and has pushed communities to leave.
The assessment forecast that continued outpost expansion would likely spread violence further into rural Palestinian communities. Stronger law enforcement and sustained international pressure could slow the trend, ACLED said, while judging a sharp near-term decline unlikely.
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Israeli troops withdrew from their Hebron operation area on 2 November, allowing residents to return; some described property damage and missing belongings as they began restoring their homes.
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The temporary order follows destruction begun after a deadly checkpoint attack; a petition challenges the demolitions under international and Israeli law.
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