The IDF said that “several red lines were crossed” during riots in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Extremist settlers set fire to Palestinian vehicles and trucks, as well as a factory and agricultural land in Beit Lid, and later attacked IDF soldiers and damaged a military vehicle.
The IDF said on Wednesday that the military intends to identify those involved and bring them to justice.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said that he strongly condemned the incident in a Wednesday statement.
“The IDF will not tolerate the behavior of a criminal minority that stains a law-abiding public. These acts are contrary to our values and represent a red line. We will act firmly on the matter until justice is served.
Settler violence rises in West Bank
“The settlement movement is important to us, and we hold it in high regard. Strengthening the settlements is an inseparable part of the components of national security. We operate according to a clear principle - terror meets the army, civilians live in peace.”
A surge in nationalist violence in the West Bank has prompted warnings from both the IDF and the international community, according to exclusive Central Command data obtained by Walla. In 2024, 675 such incidents were recorded. That number has already reached 704 in 2025.
So far this year, 174 Palestinians have been injured in these attacks, compared to 155 in of 2024. Since the October 7 massacre, 376 Palestinians have reportedly been wounded in settler-related incidents by the IDF and the defense establishment.
Since the olive harvest began on October 19, 50 violent incidents have been recorded, leaving 86 Palestinians injured. About one-third of the cases occurred in the Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron areas. That figure marks a 25-incident rise from the same harvest period last year. The IDF noted that three Palestinians were killed near Havat Gilad and Rehelim during last year’s harvest season, but no fatalities have been recorded this year.
Under growing political and public pressure, the IDF says it has engaged in dialogue with rabbis, municipal leaders, and community officials “to address anarchist fringe youth, some of whom come from outside the West Bank.”
According to senior officials, the IDF is increasingly concerned that rising settler violence may destabilize the area and disrupt military operations against Palestinian terror groups. The army confirmed that some suspects had been detained and transferred to the police, but all but one have since been released.
Defense officials estimate that around 200 extremist youths are currently active in the West Bank. While Central Command officers have urged a firmer stance, the army claims it lacks the legal tools needed to act effectively since the defense minister’s recent decision to halt the use of administrative detention in such cases.
Following a recent wave of violence in Samaria, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Kedumim Council head Uziel Watik, and Karnei Shomron Council head Yonatan Kuznitz issued a joint statement strongly condemning the violence.
“We despise and firmly condemn the habitual violent group that moves from place to place,” the statement read. They called on the police and the IDF “to deal with them firmly and without tolerance.”
The council heads emphasized that this fringe group “does not represent the settlement movement” and urged a stop to “generalizations and incitement against half a million law-abiding residents.” They also warned against what they described as “political and cynical exploitation of the events to tarnish the settlers’ reputation.”
According to Israel Police data, indictments filed against Jewish suspects have risen by 20%. The Left-wing human rights group B’Tselem reported that October 2025 saw the highest number of Jewish attacks on Palestinians since the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began tracking such incidents in 2006.
OCHA documented 264 attacks in Judea and Samaria in October alone, with incidents ranging from assaults and vandalism to arson and property destruction. On average, eight attacks occurred each day that month. October alone accounted for 18 percent of all recorded incidents in 2025.
In total, 1,485 settler attacks against Palestinians have been documented since January. Of those, 172 involved bodily harm, 1,129 caused property damage, and 184 included both.
Between October 1 and November 3, 150 attacks were directly linked to the olive harvest. During the final week of that period, 44 attacks were recorded, 20 of them harvest-related. Eighteen Palestinians were injured in that week, mostly by settlers and “hilltop youth,” a term often used to describe radicalized Israeli teens involved in nationalist violence.