Gaza: On April 18, 2025, in the town of Biddya in Salfit governorate, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians on their own farmland, wounding one person, the Palestine Red Crescent reported.
That same day, dozens of settlers, backed by the Israeli army, stormed Jabal al-Urma, a hill near Beita in the Nablus governorate, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues say. Witnesses describe settlers uprooting olive trees and chasing villagers, while soldiers stood by without intervening.
Israeli settlers are civilians who have built homes on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem without legal permission. These communities often clash with local residents over access to water, grazing land and olive groves, driving a cycle of violence that leaves Palestinians vulnerable.
Settler attacks have risen sharply this year, part of a wider pattern of harassment, vandalism and forced displacement across the West Bank. Human rights groups warn that without firm action by Israeli authorities to curb illegal settlements, these incidents will continue to inflame tensions and undermine hopes for peace.
