An armed Israeli settler uses his mobile phone to film local Palestinian landowners protesting against land confiscations near the village of Dura, west of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AFPShow lessAn armed Israeli settler uses his mobile phone to film local Palestinian landowners protesting against land confiscations near the village of Dura, west of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AShow moreFour residents of Deir Meshaal near Ramallah were wounded amid Israeli expansion in the occupied territoryThe NationalJune 13, 2026Israeli settlers allegedly attacked a Palestinian village near Ramallah at the weekend, wounding four people in the latest incident of violence in the occupied West Bank.Attacks by settlers in the territory have risen since the start in October 2023 of the Gaza war, which has emboldened extremist Israeli factions who want to illegally annex the West Bank.Settlers on Friday attacked residents of the village of Deir Meshaal, north-west of Ramallah, with knives and sticks, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. One of the four wounded was in a "dangerous condition", according to a local administration official.The attack occurred after a villager from Deir Meshaal "succeeded" in dismantling a tent that settlers had erected on Palestinian land near the village, Wafa reported. Last week, the Israeli army removed the tent, but the settlers erected it again, according to Wafa.On Saturday, settlers attacked a home near another village on the outskirts of Ramallah, "as part of the violations against Bedouin concentrations" in the area, Wafa reported, without mentioning any casualties.Settlement expansion and settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank have reached historic highs. Local authorities say 1,200 Palestinians have been killed in raids by the Israeli army on towns and cities during military operations, as well as settler attacks. Israel claims its offensive is aimed at militants.Israel has also taken measures against civilians, widely seen as punitive, such as withholding tax revenue collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and restricting access of Palestinian labour to the Israeli market, where wages are significantly higher than in the West Bank.The Palestinian UN mission in Geneva said that the West Bank is witnessing "unprecedented deterioration" due to Israeli attacks, whether by settlers or the army, causing "widespread damage" to infrastructure and property.The Israeli army also infiltrated Bethlehem overnight, establishing positions across the city, echoing raids carried out in other villages around Nablus and the Qalqilya governorate.The pressure on the West Bank has strained Israel's ties with Jordan, one of two Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel. The kingdom, a long-time US ally and a major recipient of American aid, has repeatedly denounced what it regards as increasing Israeli belligerence in the West Bank. However, security contacts have continued between the two sides. A large proportion of the kingdom's population is of Palestinian origin.Updated: June 13, 2026, 9:47 AM