The European Union is calling on Israeli authorities to take swift action to protect West Bank communities suffering amid a reported wave of increased attacks by Israeli settlers, according to a March 11 BBC report.
The death toll of Palestinians has risen to six in the past week amid the conflicts, prompting outcry from human rights activists, organizations, and others warning that the outbreak of the Iran war may have a correlation to the increased settler attacks.
According to the BBC, a spokesperson for the EU called on the Israeli government to “abide by its obligations under international law to protect the Palestinian population in the occupied territory.” The spokesperson also emphasized that impunity for such actions encourages further violence.
The United Kingdom has spoken out similarly to the EU, according to the BBC, which reported: “The UK said it was appalled by the killings, while the EU said the level of settler violence was unacceptable.”
Three Palestinians were killed March 8 during an Israeli settler attack on a West Bank village, according to a report from Melanie Lidman, an AP News journalist based in Tel Aviv.
AP News reported that, according to Amin Shouman, an eyewitness and village resident, dozens of Israeli settlers approached the village of Khirbet Abu Falah on March 8. When they confronted a community guard committee at the village border, the settlers allegedly opened fire, Shouman told the outlet.
“The Israeli military said it responded to reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians near Khirbet Abu Falah, east of Ramallah,” according to AP News. “Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the military said.”
Two of the victims were cousins: Fare’ Hamayel and Thaer Hamayel, according to the outlet. The third victim has been identified as Mohammad Murra. The BBC reported that Murra “suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital after inhaling tear gas that was fired by Israeli security forces, according to medics.”
Three other Palestinians have been killed in incidents in the past week, according to the outlet. An Israeli reservist allegedly killed a Palestinian in the South Hebron Hills March 7, and on March 2 settlers allegedly “shot and killed two Palestinians brothers in the northern West Bank,” AP News reported.
The outlet also reported that a leader in the Israeli military issued a strong condemnation following one of the recent incidents of violence.
“Especially at a time when the IDF is striking our bitter enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, with a firm hand — we cannot allow reckless internal violence to undermine the rule of law and the security of the region,” said Major General Avi Bluth, commander of the military’s Central Command.
According to the BBC, Bluth also said that the recent incidents are being regarded “with the utmost severity.” The IDF has opened a criminal investigation into one of the incidents.
Bluth also stated, “We are working together with all security agencies to quickly reach those responsible and bring them to justice.”
Ihab Hassan, a human rights activist based in Washington, D.C., has been sounding the alarm on his X account that, reportedly, Israeli settler attacks at other villages in the West Bank have continued into this week.
Hassan posted March 12 that settlers attacked the village of Duma by setting fire to a mosque and spraying graffiti. A day earlier, Hassan posted that “settlers are setting fire to Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta in the West Bank in an attempt to burn Palestinian families alive and to implement their plan of ethnic cleansing against these communities.”
The Vulnerable People Project (VPP), a Catholic human rights apostolate, said in a March 9 press release that in previous times of broader regional war, a surge in settler-related violence in the region has occurred.
“While regional attention remains focused on the expanding Iran-related conflict, reports indicate a rise in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank,” the VPP stated. “Periods of broader regional war have historically coincided with spikes in settler-related violence and tightened Israeli military restrictions on Palestinian communities. Current reporting suggests a similar pattern emerging.”
The VPP’s March 9 release outlines several updates on other West Bank villages such as Taybeh, a Christian-majority town that has also been reportedly afflicted by settler violence in recent weeks. The full VPP report on the current situation at villages in the West Bank can be read here.