Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques, cars, and agricultural land across Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, after a clash near the village of Tal left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead on Friday.
The confrontation in Tal, southwest of Nablus, began when nearly 30 settlers entered the village near the illegal Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad and tried to break into two houses, according to Al Jazeera. Residents confronted them. The settlers opened fire. Video footage shows a Palestinian man seizing a rifle from a settler and shooting him before soldiers shot the Palestinian dead. Three other Palestinians were killed and four people wounded. Each side disputes the other’s account of what provoked the violence.
Two mosques were targeted. In Qusra, southeast of Nablus, settlers torched the Al-Rahma Mosque, which was under construction, and spray-painted slogans including “Jewish revenge” and the name of one of the Israelis killed near Tal, said Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the village council. Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed fire consuming the mosque. In Kour, south of Tulkarem, three settlers tried to set a mosque ablaze at dawn, but worshippers put out the fire before it reached the main area, said Farid Jiyousi, a village council member. A surveillance camera also captured settlers setting fire to a Palestinian home in Beit Furik, east of Nablus, before residents controlled the blaze. Palestinian reports say two villages came under attack overnight, with cars vandalised, property stolen, and hate graffiti spray-painted on walls, according to the BBC.
Military crackdown sweeps the territory
The Israeli military deployed additional troops across the West Bank after the deaths. Netanyahu vowed to avenge the killings and said the military “is prepared to act more broadly in terrorist strongholds.” He told reporters that instructions were to enter villages, search them, seize weapons, and make arrests. The wide-scale operation intensified on Sunday. Israeli forces raided towns and villages across the territory, imposing strict traffic restrictions and security checkpoints on main roads, according to the national broadcaster Kan. The IDF has carried out raids and arrested dozens of Palestinians in what it called a “counter-terrorism” operation, the BBC reported.
Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reported 30 arrests in Tal, 14 in Ramallah, five in Jenin, eight in Hebron, three in Bethlehem, and six in Tulkarem. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said those detained included former prisoners. Al Jazeera reported that about 80 Palestinians were arrested in Tal since Friday, most of whom have been released, with about 18 remaining in detention, including children. Wafa also reported that Israeli forces launched a large-scale raid across the city of Jenin and several towns and villages in the governorate, including Zababdeh, Faqqua, Yabad, Burqin, Jalbun, Qabatiya, and others. Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya, an Israeli army spokesperson, said forces raided houses in Tal belonging to villagers suspected of involvement in Friday’s violence, in preparation for their temporary sealing as a preliminary step preceding demolition. Israel’s policy of demolishing homes of Palestinians accused of attacks is condemned by rights groups as collective punishment that violates international law.
A surge with no sign of reversal
Israeli Army Radio reported at least 30 settler attacks across the Palestinian territory since Friday. Such attacks surged 63 percent in the first half of 2026, the radio reported, citing security data, with at least 660 incidents recorded compared with 405 in the second half of 2025. The situation had already deteriorated before the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, but settler violence escalated sharply after the subsequent war in Gaza began. The UN says 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, the vast majority by the IDF, with at least 35 deaths involving settler attacks. Al Jazeera reports a higher toll of at least 1,185, including 250 children. The BBC reports that 41 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank over the same period.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from the West Bank, said Palestinians were under lockdown. “People are basically under lockdown, isolated, unable to call the firefighters, unable to call for any help or protection,” she said. “They have to stay up to protect their homes from arson attacks by settlers, to protect their loved ones from attacks by settlers.” She added that Israeli forces were spotted in Huwara assaulting a paramedic and a man, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported an assault on a paramedic in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. The UN and rights groups have criticized Israel for a lack of accountability, saying settlers are rarely prosecuted and Israeli soldiers are seldom convicted.
Israel has built hundreds of settlements housing 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war, alongside an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law. The BBC reports that settler violence has drawn international condemnation but has shown little or no sign of being reversed. Wadi told Reuters that the village of Qusra has faced repeated attacks since 2011, and these attacks have increased since the war on Gaza. Separately, hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest the surge in settler violence and the military crackdown. Israeli police arrested nine protesters.