Palestinians inspect the damage to a house that Israeli settlers set fire to, where a Palestinian mother and daughter lived, in the Hallet al-Fara area of Yatta, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Palestine, on August 20, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli army leaders on Thursday warned Defence Minister Israel Katz of the possibility of a “widespread eruption” in the occupied West Bank amid a sharp rise in settler attacks against Palestinians.
Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources, that senior army commanders had issued a “strategic warning that the West Bank faces the risk of a major escalation amid a sharp increase in Jewish terrorism”, referring to settler attacks.
According to the sources, the warning was issued during a recent closed-door meeting with Katz, where the army leaders, who were not named by the newspaper, said settler attacks were a “major factor in fuelling tensions”.
They warned that attacks targeting Palestinian villages “drive Palestinian residents out of a state of calm, provide fertile ground for incitement against Israelis and security forces, and could lead to a gradual escalation with far-reaching implications for the security situation”.
