Settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank has been intensifying since Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks on Israel, DW special correspondent Aya Ibrahim said.
Speaking from Jerusalem on Saturday, Ibrahim described an “alarming phenomenon.”
Ibrahim said she recently visited some communities in the West Bank, where residents told her that, as the war has led to many people in Israel being called into reserve duty, settler violence is now committed in military uniform.
“They’re now seeing settlers that they know by face and by name coming to attack them in Israeli military uniform,” Ibrahim said.
She said the situation was too dangerous, forcing many to leave, “risking their livelihood and their safety and the safety of their children.”
In a report on November 9, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at least 111 Palestinian households comprising 905 people had been displaced amid “settler violence and access restrictions” since October 7. The households are from 15 herding/Bedouin communities, the office said, adding that they included 356 children.
The DW reporter added that such an increase in displacement risks the future of a two-state solution.
“Because the West Bank is of course supposed to form the heart of any future Palestinian state, and if we have increasing displacement and increasing loss of land from Palestinians, that of course makes this a much more difficult conversation to have.”
Ibrahim also spoke of her visit to Tel Aviv, where she spoke to families of the hostages kidnapped by the militant group Hamas since the October 7 attacks.
“I think for families of the hostages, the question of a cease-fire has to be contingent with the release of more hostages,” she said, adding that many of the protesting families were angry at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ibrahim meanwhile stressed there was support in Israel for the war effort, “even though people here know that it will come at a high cost also for their own troops.”
“Because they feel after the horrific terror attacks of October 7, this is the only way to restore peace and security here in Israel.”