The escalating violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers, driven by religious Zionist ideology and supported by the Israeli occupying forces in the occupied West Bank on 24 July 2026, resulted in intensified attacks against Palestinians, including those attempting to protect themselves and their communities. These incidents were subsequently used by Israeli official spokespersons and media outlets—including statements by the Prime Minister, senior government ministers, the Minister of “Defense”, and military and security officials—to justify further military operations and promote rhetoric that fueled violence and calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation authorities exploited these developments to intensify systematic violations against the Palestinian population. Measures included expanded collective punishment, widespread military raids, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings, alongside a significant escalation in policies aimed at expanding the colonial settlement enterprise. These developments occurred amid public calls by Israeli officials and settler leaders to depopulate Palestinian villages, tighten restrictions on movement through additional military checkpoints, further fragment Palestinian cities and towns, conduct large-scale military incursions, and establish new colonial outposts.

According to eyewitness accounts and testimonies gathered by field researchers from human rights organizations, the events unfolded as follows:

Between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning, a group of armed Israeli settlers from the colonial outpost of “Havat Gilad” infiltrated the outskirts of the village of Tell (approximately 2 km from the outpost) and reached the village mosque.

Armed settlers began harassing villagers and attacked a residential home. As villagers rushed to assist, an armed settler wearing military apparel opened live fire on civilians, injuring several. Incensed by the attack, a villager confronted the armed settler and disarmed him. A subsequent exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of a soldier and an officer from the occupation forces—both residents of nearby settlement outposts. The exact source of the gunfire remains unverified, and no presence of Palestinian firearms was reported or proven in the area.

Israeli occupation forces arrived at the scene and immediately opened live fire directly at Palestinian civilians. As a result, 4 Palestinian residents of the village of Tell

were killed, and 4 others sustained live-ammunition injuries. The injured were subsequently evacuated to local hospitals for medical treatment.

On Friday afternoon, an undercover Israeli special forces unit infiltrated the city of Nablus, raided Nablus Specialty Hospital, and arrested 2 wounded Palestinian residents from the village of Tell while they were receiving medical treatment in the hospital's emergency department.

Late on Friday night, Israeli occupation forces raided the village of Tell, arrested approximately 30 residents, and surveyed the home of a Palestinian resident who had been killed earlier that day in preparation for its punitive demolition.

In the Friday evening, heavily armed settler militias, under the direct protection of the occupation army, launched coordinated attacks against the villages of Sarra, Urif, Jit, and Fara'ata. Settlers set fire to homes, vehicles, and agricultural fields, and severely assaulted local residents, inflicting serious injuries. Simultaneously, they continued an unprecedented campaign of violence and intimidation against the town of Beit Furik.

The Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society coalitions affirm that these recent crimes are part of an escalating pattern of organized, state-backed settler terror carried out within the context of colonial expansion. This terror has been enabled by statements and actions of Israeli government ministers and members of the Knesset, with the complicity and support of Israeli army and police forces, under the leadership of extremist ministers Israel Katz, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bezalel Smotrich. The Minister of “Defense” and the Minister of Internal Security have consistently refrained from holding settlers accountable for crimes committed against Palestinian civilians, while the Israeli occupying forces continue to abdicate their responsibilities under international humanitarian law as the occupying power, including their obligation to ensure the protection and security of the occupied civilian population.

Accordingly, we call upon the international community to move beyond expressions of condemnation and concern and to take concrete measures to uphold international law. This includes 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.

Furthermore, we call for the imposition of comprehensive sanctions, extending beyond settlement products, against the occupying authorities responsible for maintaining a system characterized by apartheid and colonial domination, and driven by policies and statements promoting rhetoric and policies that advocate genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced transfer, and other grave violations of Palestinian rights. These policies systematically undermine the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights, including the right to a dignified life, self-determination, and the realization of their right to establish an independent state in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.

Furthermore, we call upon the United Nations and the international community to provide immediate protection for the Palestinian civilian population under occupation.

• Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO)
• Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)
• General Union of Cultural Centers
• AMAN Coalition
• Center for Defense of Liberties & Civil Rights "HURRYYAT"
• The Civil Commission for the Independence of Judiciary (ISTIQLAL)
• Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation (PYALARA)
• Palestinian hydrology group. PHG.
• The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession
• Palestinian Youth Union
• Bisan center
• ASALA - Palestinian Businesswomen's Association
• Arab World Democracy and Electoral Monitor (AlMarsad)
• Filastiniyat
• Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling
• Sharek Youth Forum
• Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS”
• Women’s Studies Centre
• Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC)
• The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)
• Al-Haq
• Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
• Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
• Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
• Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
• Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development- PWWSD
• Palestinian Initiative for the promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy-MIFTAH
• Wassel Center for Youth Development