Four Palestinians were killed near Nablus on 24 July amid a sharp escalation of settler violence and military operations across the occupied West Bank. As Israeli authorities expand settlements and tighten control ahead of October’s legislative elections, FIDH warns that these developments further entrench Israel’s unlawful annexation policies, apartheid regime and denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and calls for urgent international action.
Paris, 28 July. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expresses its grave concern over the sharp escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank following the killing of a number of Palestinians by a large number of settlers and the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF). On 24 July 2026, four Palestinians were killed in the town of Tell, near Nablus. During the same events, one Israeli soldier and one Israeli settler connected to the IOF were also killed after a Palestinian reportedly seized a weapon from one of the settlers and opened fire. In the aftermath, further attacks were reported in Palestinian communities, including arson, assaults, destruction of property, forcible transfer at gunpoint and attempts to prevent residents from accessing their agricultural lands. Across the West Bank, the Occupying Forces restricted movements, including access to healthcare. Two pregnant women gave birth in ambulances due to checkpoints prohibiting the movement.
Rather than addressing the structural causes of this violence, Israeli authorities announced a “large-scale counter-terrorism operation” in the northern West Bank, including additional military deployments, expanded raids, arrests and reinforced movement restrictions. At the same time, Israeli authorities accelerated measures to legalize settlement outposts and establish new settlements. These developments occur three months before Israel’s legislative elections scheduled for 27 October 2026, in a context where settlement expansion – illegal under international law - and the consolidation of permanent Israeli control over the occupied West Bank have become central political issues.
Settler violence is part of a broader system
These measures risk further entrenching Israel’s settler-colonial apartheid, annexation policies and the unlawful occupation of the OPT. The escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion must be understood within a broader system of policies aimed at preventing the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and maintaining a system of domination, segregation and discrimination amounting to apartheid, as documented by FIDH. This violence is part of ethnic cleansing. These developments are inseparable from the catastrophic situation in Gaza, where Israeli military operations since 7 October 2023 have caused massive civilian casualties, widespread destruction and grave violations of international humanitarian law, commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity including gencoide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
FIDH member organisations Al-Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Al Mezan Center, highlighted the escalating violations against Palestinians, including killings, attacks on communities, raids, incitement, and settlement expansion, and called for urgent action. In a joint statement by civil society and human rights organisation they called on the international community to provide immediate protection for Palestinian people, ensure accountability for international crimes committed against the Palestinian people. Additionally they called for compliance with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the unlawfulness of the occupation and the cessation of all forms of military cooperation that contribute to the continuation of violations.
Additionally, FIDH member organisations B’Tselem and Adalah have previously warned that attacks against Palestinian communities cannot be considered isolated incidents, but form part of a broader pattern of organized settler violence occurring in a context of systematic impunity and facilitated, enabled or insufficiently prevented by Israeli authorities. Following the killings in Tell, they warned of the risk of further “pogroms” against Palestinian communities, referring to a growing pattern of armed attacks, killings, arson, intimidation, destruction of property and attempts to forcibly remove Palestinians from their lands. Settler violence has increasingly become an instrument of dispossession and displacement, contributing to the consolidation of Israeli control over occupied territory.
Israeli settlements violate international law
In its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful, reaffirmed that Israeli settlements violate international law and held that all States have an obligation not to recognize as lawful, or render aid or assistance to, the situation resulting from Israel’s unlawful presence, settlement enterprise and annexation policies. The Court further affirmed that States must cooperate to bring this unlawful situation to an end.
Despite these obligations, many States have failed to adopt effective political, diplomatic and economic measures capable of preventing the consolidation of Israel’s settlement enterprise, unlawful annexation policies and the system of domination and discrimination imposed on Palestinians. By failing to act in accordance with international law and the ICJ’s findings, States risk contributing, directly or indirectly, to the maintenance of an unlawful situation.
In light of Israel’s continued violations of international law and its failure to comply with the obligations reaffirmed by the ICJ Advisory Opinion,
FIDH calls on:
• The European Union and its Member States to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and ensure that EU cooperation, trade and institutional partnerships do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to settlement expansion, annexation policies or violations of Palestinian rights.
• All States to implement the findings of the ICJ Advisory Opinion, end all forms of support that sustain Israel’s unlawful occupation, annexation and settlement enterprise, and take all necessary measures to end impunity for international crimes.
• States to require companies, financial institutions and public authorities under their jurisdiction to conduct enhanced human rights due diligence, cease activities contributing to the unlawful situation, and establish regulatory frameworks preventing economic involvement in settlements.
• The United Nations, the European Union and third States to impose comprehensive diplomatic and economic sanctions, a full arms embargo and trade restrictions aimed at bringing Israel’s unlawful occupation and annexation policies to an end.
• All States to fully support the International Criminal Court by cooperating in the execution of arrest warrants, defending its independence and authority, providing adequate political, legal and financial support, and rejecting sanctions or political pressure targeting the Court.
