Israeli settlers commit arson and vandalism in spate of West Bank attacks

According to news reports, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural fields near Ramallah and sprayed racist slogans. Recently, arson attacks and deadly attacks by Israeli forces have been escalating.

These attacks come as Ronen Bar, head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet (Shabak), urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to approve a large-scale military offensive in the occupied territories.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing eyewitnesses, reported that on Friday, a group of settlers attacked a farm outside of Khirbet Abu Falah, burning down a shed and leaving racist graffiti in Hebrew on the walls. A video posted online by Quds News Network showed the alleged arson attack. Palestinian civil defense personnel were deployed to extinguish the fire. There were no reports of injuries in the Thursday night attack.

WAFA reported that Khirbet Abu Falah, as well as the towns of Turmus Ayya and Mughayir village northeast of Ramallah, have been repeatedly attacked by Israeli settlers, who allegedly carried out the attacks under the protection of Israeli soldiers. Previously, according to the Jerusalem Today newspaper, Israeli settlers also burned a Palestinian-owned car in the village of Wadi Rahal, south of Bethlehem.

The recent attacks by Israeli settlers come after a Palestinian gunman killed three Israeli settlers near the illegal Kedumim settlement on Monday. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in the first week of 2025, Israeli settler attacks injured at least 18 Palestinians in the occupied territories. During the same period, at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, including a teenager, and three other Palestinians, including a child, were killed in disputed circumstances.

These figures do not include the three additional Palestinians, including two children, who were killed in an Israeli drone strike on the town of Tammun in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. On Friday, Israeli forces continued raids in the occupied West Bank, throwing grenades and arresting several Palestinians. According to WAFA, citing residents of the area, in Qabatiya, south of Jenin, Israeli forces disguised as civilians surrounded a house and bombarded it with projectiles. There were no reports of casualties.

According to OCHA, more than 50 Palestinians have been displaced since the beginning of 2025 due to Israeli demolitions of homes in the occupied West Bank. Overnight, multiple Israeli raids were also reported in Nablus, and several young Palestinians were arrested. Videos posted and verified by Al Jazeera's Sanad agency on Telegram showed Israeli forces lining up and detaining dozens of young men during a raid on the town of Deir Istiya, northwest of Salfit.

Israeli forces also raided the town of Hader, south of Bethlehem; the town of Ni'lin, west of Ramallah; the villages of Hajja and Baqa al-Hatab, east of Qalqilya; and the Jalazone refugee camp, which is frequently targeted by Israeli military operations. On Friday, Shin Bet's Bar was quoted in a Channel 12 news report as saying that Israel should learn from the October 7th Hamas attacks and launch a large-scale offensive in the occupied West Bank.

“There must be a broad, reality-changing operation to dismantle and eliminate the phenomenon of Palestinian armed battalions... to ensure our freedom of action there.”