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Call on Members of Congress to help end settler violence in the West Bank
Since October 7th, 2023, settler violence in the West Bank has only increased. As the world focused on Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, settler organizations and individuals saw an opportunity for expanding illegal settlements in the West Bank. This campaign of violent exclusion has only grown more active with time, emboldened by the Israeli government’s indifference, even material support, for settler expansion. The last six months have seen this violence reach new heights, with an average of three Palestinians injured by settler attacks a day so far in 2026. The situation of one Christian town, Beit Sahour, just south of Jerusalem, clearly illustrates just how exceptional the settler expansion and violence of today is.
A large Israeli settlement, Shadma Yitziv, is being built on land bordering Beit Sahour. Since Beit Sahour falls within Area C of the West Bank, under Palestinian civil administration, the people of the town have developed the land, building parks and recreational facilities alongside plans for a new hospital. The development of this new settlement makes all this current and future infrastructure completely inaccessible to the people of Beit Sahour. Such settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law, giving the settlers no legal justification. Unfortunately, the Israeli government has complied, refusing to block settlements or prosecute cases of violence against Palestinians.
These cases of violence from Israeli settlers are a real threat in Beit Sahour and across the West Bank. Israeli settlers have threatened, harassed, and even attacked Palestinians on land they want to settle, creating an environment of constant intimidation. They target Palestinians in their own villages, such as in the fatal shooting of a Palestinian teenager during settler attacks in July 2026. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers also participate in much of this violence, with two Palestinians shot dead by IDF soldiers involved in a settler raid in mid July. These types of crimes are almost never prosecuted by Israeli military courts. Most concerningly, this violence sometimes evolves into mob attacks on entire communities, with 20 Palestinian villages attacked at once on March 21 of this year. Illegal settlements are not just limiting Palestinian access to important land, but actively threatening their safety.
These settlements remain a dire long-term threat to Palestinian livelihoods, even as settler violence threatens their lives in the short term. Over four thousand Palestinians have been displaced from their homes since October 7th, 2023, with tens of thousands more facing the broad limits on development and infrastructure that the people of Beit Sahour faced. For example, the E-1 settlement project aims to create over three thousand new settlement units in a corridor of Palestinian land in East Jerusalem. Similar settlement drives exist for other major Palestinian cities like Bethlehem and Hebron, dividing neighborhoods into a maze of security checkpoints and walls. Combined with the physical violence West Bank residents contend with everyday, these settlement drives are creating a future where Palestinians are excluded from the only home they have.
As Christians, we follow the word of the prophet Isaiah who cautioned against coveting the lands and homes of one’s neighbors: “Doom to those who acquire house after house, who annex field to field until there is no more space left and only you live alone in the land” (Isaiah 5:8). Take action with Churches for Middle East Peace to help protect Palestinians of all faiths in the West Bank.
Additional Resources:
Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify amid surge of West Bank settler violence | UN News
IDF accused of working with settlers after latest deadly West Bank raid | West Bank | The Guardian
Call on Members of Congress to fight for an end to settler violence in the West Bank