--- title: Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank description: Settlers lit homes on fire, smashed fires and beat people in a rampage through several West Bank villages on Saturday and into Sunday canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-03-22T18:10:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-23T00:39:56.687Z og:title: Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank og:description: Settlers lit homes on fire, smashed fires and beat people in a rampage through several West Bank villages on Saturday and into Sunday og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c0a04b7fc0c01b3/69c036c074a6cc8c522ca645/GettyImages-2267414442.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2267414442.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank twitter:description: Settlers lit homes on fire, smashed fires and beat people in a rampage through several West Bank villages on Saturday and into Sunday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c0a04b7fc0c01b3/69c036c074a6cc8c522ca645/GettyImages-2267414442.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Mar 22, 2026 6:10 PM UTC  A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a house burned during a raid by Israeli settlers in Fundokumiyya, West Bank on March 22, 2026\. Homes and vehicles were set on fire, causing extensive material damage. A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a house burned during a raid by Israeli settlers in Fundokumiyya, West Bank on March 22, 2026\. Homes and vehicles were set on fire, causing extensive material damage.Nedal Eshtayah—Anadolu  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Mar 22, 2026 6:10 PM UTC Israeli settlers set homes on fire, smashed cars and beat several people in a wave of attacks on Palestinian villages in the [occupied West Bank this weekend](https://time.com/7303174/west-bank-israel-settler-violence-gaza-hamas-war/), witnesses and local rights groups said. The Palestinian [WAFA news agency](https://english.wafa.ps/) reported that settlers stormed the village of Fandaqumiya and the town of Seilat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, late on Saturday. Other attacks were reported in the agricultural regions of Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley. In the village of Fandaqumiya, a group of settlers set vehicles ablaze and smashed windows on houses, WAFA reported, citing local sources. In the central West Bank, at least three people were injured in a stone-throwing attack. In various parts of Nablus, 30 settlers targeted the al-Masoudiya archaeological area and set fire to a tourist tent, the agency reported. **Read More:** [_The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank_](https://time.com/7304755/violent-gaza-ification-west-bank/) The Palestinian Red Crescent said that at least [three people](https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-west-bank-settlers-9ded87da79b032cff60ddd8797846f0e) suffered head wounds and were hospitalized in the attacks that took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of [Ramadan](https://time.com/6898929/ramadan-muslim-activism/). The wounded included a 45-year-old man who was shot in the foot, and a woman suffering from smoke inhalation. The attacks follow a spate of similar incidents of settler violence since the beginning of the Iran war, and come amid a dramatic increase in settlement construction in recent years under Israel’s [right-wing government](https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlers-west-bank-ad62cc10b512a607aee77cc91873519f). The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a [statement](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog%5Fentry/opposition-lawmakers-condemn-settler-violence-as-kristallnacht/) to the Times of Israel on Saturday that it received reports of “Israeli citizens who burned buildings and property, and disturbed the peace in the area.” It said later Sunday that security forces detained five Israeli civilians and confiscated weapons, Associated Press reported. Earlier this week, the Israeli army’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir described attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinians as "morally and ethically unacceptable." The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TIME. The rampage followed the death of Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler who was [killed](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog%5Fentry/settlement-outpost-resident-killed-after-palestinian-driver-strikes-his-atv/) while riding an ATV after being hit by a vehicle driven by a Palestinian. Authorities are currently investigating whether the collision was deliberate. ## **‘Night of fire’** Ayman Odeh, the leader of Israel’s Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, called the weekend attacks a “night of fire” [in a post on X](https://x.com/AyOdeh). “Settlers carried out a widespread pogrom that lasted over six hours, struck more than 14 villages, attacked dozens of Palestinians, and no one stopped them,” he added. Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s center-left Democrats party, accused the Israeli government of fueling the violence. “While we are fighting in Iran and on the northern border, under missile attacks and with many seriously wounded, this government is encouraging total anarchy,” he wrote on X. “Jewish terrorism is spreading, exploiting the war, with the backing of extremist ministers and dangerous encouragement from the prime minister and the defence minister,’ he added. “This is a failure of responsibility for Israel’s security.” New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman described the attacks as "outrageous" and called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring a [bill to the floor](https://jstreet.org/explainer-the-west-bank-violence-prevention-act-h-r-3045/) that would impose sanctions on anyone involved with violence in the West Bank. "Trump should have never rescinded the Biden era sanctions on settlers. Now we’re seeing the poisonous fruit of that decision. This violence is anti-democratic and unacceptable. The Israeli government must hold those responsible accountable, as the rule of law requires," Rep. Goldman [wrote on X.](https://x.com/RepDanGoldman/status/2035823912617939191) ## **Iran war escalates violence** Settler attacks in the West Bank have intensified since the Iran war began on Feb. 28\. Experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [condemned](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/03/state-backed-terror-squads-forefront-israels-ethnic-cleansing-and-annexation) in a March 19 report what they called an "accelerating campaign of ethnic cleansing and annexation in the occupied West Bank” since the beginning of the war. The panel said that most road gates out of the West Bank have been closed by Israel since Feb. 28\. “Entrapped and out of reach, entire communities live in fear of settler terrorism rampaging across the West Bank day and night,” they warned. “Thousands of Palestinian families have been forced to flee their homes because of escalating settler attacks, and the destruction of essential infrastructure, especially in the Jordan valley, some of them displaced months earlier from other communities.” [Nearly](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ocha-humanitarian-situation-update-356-west-bank/) 700 Palestinians in nine communities have been displaced due to settler attacks so far in 2026, according to the U.N., and [more than](https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-commissioner-general-west-bank-over-1000-palestinians-killed) 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, when a Hamas attack on southern Israel from Gaza [killed](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/10/7-october-un-experts-call-end-violence-and-accountability-after-year-human) around 1,200 people, of whom at least 809 were civilians. Israel responded with a devastating assault on Gaza that killed at least 70,000 people, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister of Israel and rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently condemned the settler attacks, [saying on X](https://x.com/naftalibennett/status/2034393616802570307) that Israelis must “denounce the rioters and eradicate all violence from within our own ranks.” “We did not establish a Jewish state so that violent gangs would operate within it,” he added, calling the attacks “yet another failure of governance by the government.” Israel's government continues to [push for new settlements](https://time.com/7309628/west-bank-settlements-israel-plan-controversy/) in the West Bank. A [report](https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session61/advance-version/a-hrc-61-70-aev.pdf) from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier this year found that from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2025,36,000 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced. The report also documented 1,732 incidents of settler violence resulting in casualties or property damage. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are widely considered to be in violation of international law. The West Bank is defined by the United Nations [as under Israeli military occupation,](https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-203742/) as the territory was captured by Israel in the [1967 Arab-Israeli war](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/arab-israeli-war-1967#:~:text=Between%20June%205%20and%20June,the%20Soviet%20Union%20to%20intervene.), along with Gaza and East Jerusalem. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/"},"headline":"Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank","datePublished":"2026-03-22T18:10:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-23T00:39:56.687Z","description":"Settlers lit homes on fire, smashed fires and beat people in a rampage through several West Bank villages on Saturday and into Sunday","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c0a04b7fc0c01b3/69c036c074a6cc8c522ca645/GettyImages-2267414442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c0a04b7fc0c01b3/69c036c074a6cc8c522ca645/GettyImages-2267414442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2267414442.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Nedal Eshtayah—Anadolu","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/03/22/settler-attacks-west-bank/","name":"Israeli Settlers Carry Out Wave of Attacks on Palestinian Villages in West Bank"}}]}] ```