The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns Israeli armed settlers’ attack on Silwad village in Ramallah, central West Bank. The attack injured 9 Palestinians and burnt 8 vehicles, marking an appalling spike in the state-backed settler violence across the West Bank.
These crimes are part of extensive and systematic rampage by settlers under the protection of the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF). Settlers continue to enjoy impunity and protection granted by their state with which they persist in their attacks as part of a broader policy of demographic change and entrenching Israel’s sovereignty and grip on the West Bank, as well as furthering the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
According to an eyewitness and information provided to PCHR’s field researcher, at approximately 15:00 on Friday, 03 January 2024, about 200 Palestinians, including children, headed to al-Nasabiyia area in northern Silwad village, northeast of Ramallah, to check on their lands a day after the IOF evacuated a pastoral settlement outpost in al-Burj area in central Silwad. Upon arrival, some started ploughing their land using tractors, while others walked around to check on the land. Suddenly, around 20 masked Israeli settlers appeared from al-Burj area carrying sticks and iron tools. Accompanied by IOF and military vehicles, including one military SUV and the other civilian, the settlers headed towards the locals there. Just when the settlers and IOF were 10-15 meters away from them, the soldiers sporadically opened fire into the air with no prior warning, enticing fear among the residents who fled and left behind 16 to 18 cars parked on the dirt road leading to al-Nasabiyia area. During the attack, the settlers climbed the sand berms surrounding the area and threw stones at the Palestinians, as well as chasing them with sticks. As a result, 9 Palestinians sustained minor injuries. Additionally, the settlers smashed the vehicles’ windows with iron tools and wooden sticks and set 8 vehicles ablaze using highly flammable substances on them. All through the attack, the IOF were standing by watching and did not stop settlers from carrying out their attacks. Instead, they opened fire to disperse the Palestinians.
During the last three months of 2024 and first days of 2025, PCHR has documented 923 attacks by settlers, resulting in the death of five civilians, including two children, and injury of 81 others. These incidents included burning and damaging dozens of homes and vehicles, as well as burning hundreds of dunams of farmland and displacing tens of families.
PCHR condemns settler violence, asserting that most of their attacks occur under the protection of IOF, which intervene to secure settlers during their attacks and their subsequent withdrawal
while suppressing Palestinians attempting self-defense. Often, no serious complaints or investigations are pursued.
PCHR calls on the international community and UN bodies to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and to take impactful action to stop IOF and settlers’ crimes against Palestinians and provide protection for them.
