Why are Israeli settlers on a rampage in the occupied West Bank?

Israeli settlers, backed by the military, person been connected a rampage successful the occupied West Bank, torching astatine slightest 2 mosques and detaining dozens of Palestinians days aft sidesplitting 4 of them.

Palestinians successful the occupied West Bank person been on borderline for the past 2 days aft Israeli forces changeable dormant 4 Palestinians successful the municipality of Tal, adjacent Nablus, during a settler incursion connected their land.

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Two Israelis were besides killed successful the confrontation.

Here is what to cognize astir the tensions successful the West Bank:

A Palestinian lad sits extracurricular a mosque damaged by Israeli settlers, successful Qusra adjacent Nablus, successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 26, 2026 [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]

What’s happening?

Last Friday, astir 30 settlers entered Tal, adjacent to the amerciable Israeli colony of Havat Gilad, and tried to interruption into 2 houses erstwhile residents confronted them. The settlers opened fire.

A video shows a Palestinian antheral seizing a firearm from a settler and shooting him earlier soldiers sprout him dead. Three others were killed and 4 radical wounded.

Following the sidesplitting of 2 Israelis, the subject deployed further troops crossed the occupied Palestinian territory.

After vowing to avenge the killings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the subject “is prepared to enactment much broadly successful violent strongholds”.

“The instructions we gave were to participate villages, hunt them, prehend weapons and marque arrests,” Netanyahu told reporters.

Which mosques were torched?

Abdel Azim Wadi, caput of the colony assembly successful Qusra colony southeast of Nablus, said Israeli settlers torched a mosque aboriginal connected Sunday, arsenic attackers sprayed slogans successful Hebrew connected its walls with messages, including “Jewish revenge” and the sanction of 1 of the Israelis killed adjacent Tal.

“The colony has faced repeated attacks since 2011, and these attacks person accrued since the warfare [on Gaza],” Wadi told Reuters quality agency.

Palestinian officials said settlers besides tried to pain a mosque adjacent Kour, southeast of the metropolis of Tulkarem.

Farid Jiyousi, a subordinate of the colony council, said 3 settlers tried to acceptable the mosque ablaze astatine dawn, but worshippers enactment retired the occurrence earlier it reached the main country of the mosque.

“This is the archetypal onslaught our colony has experienced,” helium said, adding that the attackers had besides sprayed graffiti successful Hebrew connected the mosque walls.

A surveillance camera captured the infinitesimal Israeli settlers acceptable occurrence to a Palestinian location successful the municipality of Beit Furik, eastbound of Nablus, successful the bluish occupied West Bank.

The video, published connected section societal media accounts, shows settlers attacking the location and mounting portion of it ablaze.

The settlers past fled aft mounting the location connected fire, portion Palestinian residents managed to power the occurrence and to bounds the damage.

How galore settler attacks were reported?

Israeli Army Radio reported astatine slightest 30 settler attacks crossed the Palestinian territory since Friday.

Overall, specified attacks person surged 63 percent successful the archetypal fractional of 2026, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing information data, with astatine slightest 660 incidents recorded arsenic opposed to 405 successful the 2nd fractional of 2025.

“During the weekend, an antithetic fig of 30 nationalist transgression incidents were recorded successful the territories,” it said.

Since October 2023, astatine slightest 1,185 Palestinians person been killed successful the occupied West Bank, including 250 children. At slightest 87 Palestinians person been killed truthful acold successful the territory successful 2026, including 21 killed by settlers.

“Last nighttime was a sleepless 1 for Palestinians crossed the occupied West Bank. People are fundamentally nether lockdown, isolated, incapable to telephone the firefighters, incapable to telephone for immoderate assistance oregon extortion – not from the Palestinian constabulary and surely not from the Israeli service that accompanies the settlers,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said, reporting from the West Bank.

“They person to enactment up to support their homes from arson attacks by settlers, to support their loved ones from attacks by settlers. So for Palestinians, this is deadly serious,” she said.

“They recognize that they’re each connected their own.”

Palestinians repair a damaged location pursuing an onslaught by Israeli settlers successful the colony of Sarra, adjacent the West Bank metropolis of Nablus, July 25, 2026 [Leo Correa/AP]

How galore Palestinians person been detained?

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said the detained individuals included erstwhile Palestinian prisoners.

The arrests were concentrated successful the occupied West Bank’s Nablus governorate, wherever the Israeli service has been carrying retired incursions.

Specifically successful the municipality of Tal, large-scale raids and interrogations are taking place, according to the show group.

The fig of those arrested successful the municipality since Friday reached astir 80, astir of whom person since been released. About 18 Palestinians, including children, stay successful detention.