Settlers storm Palestinian towns as Israeli forces raid West Bank

Israeli settlers backed by occupation forces attacked several Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of Tuesday, as settler violence and military raids continue at unprecedented levels across the territory.

Dozens of settlers, accompanied by a large Israeli military force, stormed the town of Silwad, east of Ramallah, and seized dozens of livestock belonging to three Palestinian residents.

Property was damaged during the attack before local residents confronted the settlers and forced them to withdraw.

Silwad Mayor Raed Hamed told The New Arab that "hundreds of settlers entered the town of Silwad in the early hours of Tuesday via an unpaved agricultural road near the Ayoun al-Haramiyah area."

He said Israeli forces accompanied the settlers and provided them with protection, while other troops entered the town through its main entrances.

In nearby al-Mazraa al-Sharqiya, Mohammed Malash, a volunteer with the town's ambulance service, told The New Arab that settlers attacked the outskirts of the town at around 2 a.m. as the assault on Silwad was under way, prompting confrontations with Palestinian residents.

Malash said live ammunition was fired at young Palestinian men, although no injuries were reported. Residents quickly reached the area and prevented the settlers from breaking into one of the homes.

He added that settlers smashed Palestinian-owned vehicles and attempted to attack a house before residents confronted them and forced them to withdraw.

Israeli forces raid Palestinian towns

The settler attacks came alongside a series of Israeli military raids across the occupied West Bank.

In Nablus, Israeli forces stormed several areas of the northern West Bank city, searched homes and detained 68-year-old Samir al-Asta from his home.

Israeli forces also raided several areas of the Bethlehem governorate, including Beit Sahour and Beit Jala, as well as the towns of al-Ubeidiya, al-Shawawra and Zaatara. No arrests were reported there.

In Tammun, southeast of Tubas, Israeli forces detained 86-year-old Burhan Rashid Bani Odeh and his 57-year-old daughter, Rashida, on Tuesday morning.

Kamal Bani Odeh, director of the Prisoners' Club in Tubas, said the pair were detained in an attempt to pressure Rashida's son to turn himself in, adding that other members of the family had previously been arrested for the same reason.

In Ramallah and al-Bireh, Israeli forces tightened movement restrictions and erected a checkpoint at the entrance to Ain Sinya, north of Ramallah, disrupting hundreds of vehicles, particularly those leaving the city.

Another checkpoint was erected between Silwad and Yabrud, east of Ramallah, restricting residents' movement, while Israeli forces established a further checkpoint at the entrance to Aboud, west of Ramallah, where soldiers searched Palestinian vehicles and checked residents' identification documents.

Late on Monday, Israeli forces withdrew from the town of Biddu in the central West Bank following a day-long military operation involving raids, arrests, field interrogations and assaults on Palestinians.

Biddu Mayor Nazmi Mansour told The New Arab that "Israeli forces withdrew from the town overnight, and institutions, schools and shops resumed operations this morning."

He said five Palestinians remained in detention after others were released following the field interrogation of hundreds of residents. Dozens of injuries were also reported during the raid.

Settler violence reaches unprecedented levels

The attacks come amid an unprecedented surge in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

Since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition took office at the end of 2022, settler attacks have increased sharply alongside settlement expansion and increasingly severe restrictions on Palestinian movement.

The UN has said settler violence has reached unprecedented levels in 2026, documenting more than 1,430 incidents resulting in casualties or property damage by 10 August and affecting around 260 Palestinian communities.

UN officials have also documented Israeli settlers and security forces acting together in attacks on Palestinian communities, while UN experts have described the escalating violence as "settler terror" carried out with the support and acquiescence of the Israeli state.

Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced this year amid settler violence, demolitions and evictions, with entire communities forced from their land.

The violence has included killings and physical assaults, as well as attacks on Palestinian homes, livestock, farmland, vehicles, water infrastructure and other property.

The Israeli Institute for National Security Studies warned earlier this month that surging settler terrorism posed a threat to Israeli state institutions.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law. The UK and several other European governments have also imposed sanctions targeting settlers and entities linked to violence and settlement activity.

Israeli settlements and settlers have recently faced UK measures amid mounting international pressure over settlement expansion and attacks on Palestinians.