Settler attacks in West Bank escalate, killing at least three in Kafr Malik. Israeli troops accused of firing on civilians. Violence surges amid Gaza conflict.
Newsroom (01 July 2025, Gaudium Press) – A wave of violence has swept through the West Bank, leaving at least three Palestinians dead and several others injured in the village of Kafr Malik near Ramallah, according to Palestinian Authority sources. The attack, reportedly perpetrated by over a hundred Jewish settlers, saw homes and vehicles set ablaze, with Israeli soldiers accused of standing by before opening fire on unarmed Palestinian civilians. In a separate incident, a 15-year-old boy was killed by Israeli troops in Al-Yamoun, northern West Bank, amid near-daily clashes in the region.
“We live under constant fire from settlers and under the crossfire of the Israeli occupation army,” said Fr. Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village of 1,500 residents located 30 km north of Jerusalem. Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr. Fawadleh described the escalating violence, which he says predates the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. “Yesterday evening, settlers attacked homes at the Karamelo roundabout, coinciding with an assault on Kafr Malik that left three martyrs and many homes and vehicles burned.”
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din reported that settlers acted with impunity, with Israeli soldiers failing to intervene as homes were torched and stones thrown at villagers. Social media footage corroborates eyewitness accounts, showing soldiers firing on Palestinians at the village entrance despite no evidence of residents wielding weapons. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed troops targeted “the source of the fire and stone throwers,” though documentation of armed Palestinian resistance remains absent. The IDF further stated that soldiers intervened to separate settlers and Palestinians, with one officer sustaining minor injuries from a stone.
In response to the Kafr Malik attack, at least five settlers were arrested and handed over to police for questioning. However, Yesh Din condemned the broader pattern of violence, stating, “Under the auspices of government and military backing, settler violence in the West Bank continues and becomes more deadly by the day. This is what ethnic cleansing looks like.”
The violence reflects a broader surge in settler attacks, which Palestinian Authority First Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh warned is “pushing the region to explode.” In a statement on X, al-Sheikh called for urgent international intervention to protect Palestinians. The attacks, often led by religious extremists who view the West Bank as part of a divinely promised Israel, have intensified since the Gaza conflict began, with settlers exploiting regional instability to target Palestinian communities.
Fr. Fawadleh, undeterred by the violence, affirmed the resilience of his community: “We are living in very difficult conditions, but we are not afraid to remain in our land. We are a people who love our land and will never abandon it.”
The escalation comes amid accusations of complicity by Israeli authorities. The head of the Israeli police division in the West Bank, recently reinstated after a six-month suspension, faces investigation for ignoring settler violence, allegedly to appease pro-occupation Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. Meanwhile, the United States, under the Trump administration, has dropped sanctions previously imposed on settlers, further emboldening attacks that have become a daily reality for Palestinians.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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