Impunity and lack of accountability unleashes killing spree by Israeli settlers across occupied West Bank

With the increasing audacity and the growing culture of impunity, Israeli settlers are not hesitating to target prominent Palestinian figures, even those widely known for peaceful activism.

The settlers' killing of Awdah Hathaleen, a teacher, activist, and was involved in the Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land", in Masafer Yatta on Monday evening is another clear example of how Palestinian lives are victim to the whims of Israeli violence across the occupied West Bank.

This pattern of targeting due to an absence of any serious prosecution or legal accountability reflects an integrated system of political and legal protection enjoyed by settlers and explains the increasing intensity and frequency of Israeli attacks on Palestinian villages.

The blatant human rights violations committed by Israeli settlers have only been met with increased political and material support from successive Israeli governments, especially since 2022.

Since the beginning of 2025, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented approximately 757 incidents of attacks by Israeli settlers that resulted in material damage or injury. This represents a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Stalled justice

A year and a half ago, the Awad family filed a complaint with the Israeli Supreme Court due to the siege and closure of the main road leading to their homes in the town of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah.

Despite the court's positive response and its decision to open the street and allow the family members to freely access their homes, this decision has not been implemented to date. Furthermore, Israeli settlers have been constantly attacking the family's homes.

Abdullah Awad, a member of the family, told The New Arab that they have lived in the area since 1970, before the establishment of the Shiloh settlement, which seized the town's lands. Despite this, settlers continue to attack the residents of the homes daily.

"We, more than 28 people, have been subjected to attacks by the Israeli army and settlers for fifty years, which have intensified since the war on Gaza. These attacks include stone-throwing at homes, vandalising and destroying everything outside, damaging solar panels, water tanks, windows, and outdoor lighting, damaging and destroying more than four vehicles, burning and uprooting 700 trees, and stealing surveillance cameras," he said.

The Israeli military prosecution and settlement security refuse to implement any court ruling in the family's favour, prompting them to file a new complaint on 17 July.

"The settlers come daily and sit for hours in front of the houses, so we stay inside, afraid to move. They don't allow anyone to enter the area except us. They've also placed an iron gate at the entrance to the area, restricting our freedom. Their presence terrorises our children and women, and they only allow us to use one vehicle for about 30 people, most of whom are children," Awad added.

Lack of economic sanctions

According to an analytical article published in the US-based Time on 23 July 2025, the political support provided by the Israeli government to extremist settlers is a major factor in fuelling the escalation of Israeli violence across the occupied West Bank.

"Among the factors contributing to the escalation of tensions is the Israeli government's support for extremist figures such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who promote settlement expansion and reduce law enforcement against settler violence," the article noted.

Palestinians felt a glimmer of hope after the European Council approved, on 19 April 2024, the inclusion of four settlers and two settler organisations on a sanctions list under the international human rights sanctions regime. These sanctions include a travel ban to the European Union and a freeze on financial assets.

However, these measures haven't had a real deterrent on the ground, partly because the sanctions are symbolic or limited in scope, and haven't been accompanied by advanced political or legal pressure against the structures that manage and cover up illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The former EU ambassador to Palestine, Sven Kuhn Von Burgsdorff, told TNA that if sanctions are taken under the standard foreign and security policy of the EU, then the EU member states have to agree by unanimity.

"Countries can act based on their own sovereign prerogatives. Slovenia, for instance, has recently decided to sanction Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and France imposed sanctions on violent settlers a few months ago," he noted. "But since countries like Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, and Italy have so far rejected any calls for sanctioning Israeli individuals or the government, this hasn't taken a place at the EU level yet."

Burgsdorff further elaborated that 46 former EU ambassadors have addressed an open letter to the European leaders, in which they urge European member states' governments to take adequate measures against Israel because of its blatant breach of the human rights clause of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The proposed measures include, inter alia, banning trade with Israel's illegal settlements.

"Our argument is very simple: The International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of July 2024 declared that third countries, like Germany, France, and Great Britain, any UN member state, have to take measures to stop the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory," Burgsdorff said.

He further elaborated that these measures must also tackle trade with illegal Israeli settlements. "In other words, banning trade with illegal settlements is fully compatible with the ICJ advisory opinion, which is why the former ambassadors have urged European Union leaders to do that," he added. 

The EU can actually take action on this as a group with a qualified majority, which means that at least 15 European Union member states representing at least 65 percent of the general population can decide to ban trade with settlements under the commercial policy of the EU.

Settler policies and their flagrant violations of international law, coupled with Israeli government policies in both the West Bank and Gaza, could drive hundreds of thousands of oppressed Palestinians to seek refuge in Europe, argues Burgsdorff. 

"It is our obligation towards the shared humanity, respect for international law, and our own moral principles that we have to act now with political resolve. It is even in Europe's self-interest to stop this terrible conflict and support a solution that allows Palestinians to live in peace, security and prosperity. If we don't do that, Europe may have to accommodate hundreds of thousands of migrants more seeking refuge and protection from death, oppression and poverty," the former ambassador warned.

Palestinian political negligence

Anti-settlement activist Issa Amr remarked to TNA that there is a lack of official Palestinian access to the international community, and that those who approach international institutions are individuals, volunteer groups, or simple institutions.

This is the most significant weakness, as the Palestine Liberation Organisation is absent, and there is no Palestinian consensus on how to lobby internationally against Israeli settlers.

"Internally, we must have a unified decision on how to deal with the settlers and settlements, which institutions to approach, and ask Arab and Islamic countries to boycott and withdraw investments from all companies blacklisted by the United Nations," Amr said.

Amr suggested a very practical approach for Palestinians to first approach Arab and Islamic countries and begin by enacting laws, such as the one being voted on in Ireland, prohibiting any type of dealing or investment in the settlements.

"Let us first demand that each other cut off all dealings with the settlers and settlements before demanding that European and Western countries do so," he concluded.