All articles tagged with #settlers
US Representative Ro Khanna says he was detained for about 90 minutes by armed Israeli settlers during a West Bank visit. Israeli forces later intervened and dispersed the settlers, with Khanna saying troops sided with the settlers. He was in Khirbet Zanuta to observe the occupation’s impact, a trip tied to his discussions as he weighs a potential 2028 presidential bid.
US Representative Ro Khanna says he and his group were detained by armed Israeli settlers during a West Bank visit and that the Israeli army sided with the settlers, calling the incident a “huge mistake.” The episode highlights rising settler violence in the occupied territory and ongoing US debate over aid to Israel, with Khanna and others pushing to end or curb funding. Israel says troops intervened after settlers blocked vehicles near Khirbet Zanuta; Khanna described the detainment as targeted and noted the attackers were armed with US-made rifles.
Four Israeli settlers were arrested after attacking CNN and other journalists in the occupied West Bank near Sinjil while covering the one-year anniversary of Saif Musallet's killing, with assailants blocking roads, using wooden/metal rods and stones, and one brandishing a knife to puncture tires; police seized weapons and condemned violence against media amid rising settler violence in the area.
Israeli authorities intensified evictions and demolitions in east Jerusalem’s al-Bustan neighborhood (Silwan), arguing many homes were built without permits in zones not zoned for housing, while settlers move in and rights groups accuse state institutions of Judeaization near the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount. About 1,500 Palestinians in al-Bustan face possible displacement, with March marking a high rate of state-led evictions; residents say permit access is limited or futile, and demolitions continue alongside court battles and planned municipal projects like a park and parking area.
In the northern West Bank, a Palestinian family burying 80‑year‑old Hussein Asasa was interrupted by armed men from the nearby Sa‑Nur settlement who demanded the grave be exhumed, claiming the land near the settlement. The Israeli military surrounded the site, confiscated digging tools, and helped relocate the body to a nearby cemetery after the family chose to exhume it themselves rather than use a bulldozer. The incident, linked to Israel’s 2025 reauthorization of Sa‑Nur and ongoing West Bank tensions, highlights the rising influence of settlers and the military’s handling of such intrusions amid broader violence.
Palestinian Christian rights activist Ihab Hassan tells Vatican News that Israeli settlers in the West Bank act with impunity, carrying out attacks on Palestinian communities (including Taybeh) with little accountability; with 16 Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year, he links violence to government policy and settlement expansion, and promotes the Save West Bank Christians initiative to mobilize global Christian solidarity pressuring authorities to stop the attacks.
Israel’s West Bank operations were described in leaked remarks by Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth as “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967,” including the shooting of 42 Palestinian stone-throwers and a justification of discriminatory military justice against Palestinians while settlers face different standards. He also cited a looser set of rules at the separation barrier (shooting suspects in the knee) to deter crossings and framed the conflict as a “survival of the fittest” struggle. The statements drew Haaretz criticism of apartheid-like practices, amid escalating settler violence; UN data say 230 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2025.
Aws al-Nasaan, 14, was fatally shot near his school in Al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank, part of a spike in settler violence linked to settlement expansion; the attack, captured on video, also left others dead, and eyewitnesses say Israeli soldiers did not intervene. The IDF has suspended the reservist shooter and confiscated his weapon, while rights groups warn of rising violence and impunity, with UN data showing about 42 Palestinians killed this year as settlements expand and security crackdowns tighten restrictions on Palestinians.
Forty years after the 1986 disaster, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone remains hazardous but hosts scientists, elderly returnees and soldiers; drones and Russian activity persist in parts of the zone, while wildlife — including Przewalski's horses — flourishes and researchers monitor radiation to minimize exposure, preserving memory of those who died and the communities that have adapted to this paradoxical landscape.
Two Palestinians were killed, including 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan, and three others wounded when Israeli settlers opened fire near a school in al-Mughayyir, in a violence surge tied to ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions and frequent settler attacks on education in the West Bank.
Two Palestinians were killed in al-Mughayyir village in the West Bank during an attack by Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers. The victims included Aws al-Naasan, 14, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32. Palestinian officials blamed settler gunfire and alleged coordination with the Israeli army, while Israel said troops dispersed a violent confrontation after a report of stones thrown at an Israeli car. The incident fits a wider pattern of rising settler violence in 2026, with UN figures showing dozens killed, hundreds injured, and thousands displaced across the West Bank.
Two Palestinians were killed, including a 14-year-old, and four more were wounded when Israeli settlers attacked a school in the West Bank village of Mughayir; the Israeli army said troops were dispatched after rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle, with a reserve soldier firing in the area.
Meead Abu al-Rub, a Palestinian activist, says she and fellow demonstrators were harassed and threatened by armed settlers with Israeli soldiers present during an October olive-harvest protest in Idhna’s Suba area. A photo of her on L’Espresso’s cover drew global attention and provoked condemnation from Israel; the magazine later released the full video. Meead now fears for her safety as settler violence and displacement rise in the West Bank in 2026, despite international scrutiny.
Palestinian schoolchildren in Umm al-Khair, Masafer Yatta, staged a sit-in to demand access to their school after settlers blocked the road. Israeli forces fired teargas at the demonstrators on the first day back to class since the start of the Iran war; the military said the gathering was dispersed and reported no injuries. The incident highlights ongoing settler violence and movement restrictions affecting education in the West Bank.
Palestinians condemned Itamar Ben-Gvir's third incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, carried out with settlers under heavy police protection and described as a breach of the 1967 status quo; Jordan and the Palestinian Authority denounced the move as a provocation, as Israeli raids in the West Bank continued with arrests.