WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The occupied West Bank and Jerusalem witnessed an escalation in Jewish settler attacks over the past 24 hours, including assaults on Palestinian homes, incursions into farmland and settlers releasing livestock onto Palestinian-owned land. The escalation coincided with hundreds of settlers storming Aqsa Mosque and performing Talmudic rituals in its courtyards on the first day of the Jewish New Year.
Local reports said around 480 settlers broke into Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning and performed Talmudic rituals in its courtyards. So-called Temple groups also intensified calls for settlers to break into the mosque and blow the shofar in its courtyards, raising concerns that the Jewish holiday could become another occasion for escalating violations at the holy site.
Across the occupied West Bank, settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the al-Dhahra area of Beita, south of Nablus, while settlers, some of them armed, entered land belonging to the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah.
In al-Mazra’a al-Gharbiya, an armed settler entered Palestinian land and began bulldozing and damaging it. Settlers also released their livestock onto Palestinian land between Silwad and Yabrud, northeast of Ramallah, a practice that has repeatedly targeted farmland and the livelihoods of Palestinian landowners across the West Bank.
Armed settlers also stormed the outskirts of Burqa, east of Ramallah, while settlers attacked Palestinian homes in Yasuf, east of Salfit.
The attacks come amid a sharp rise in settler violence and its geographic spread across the occupied West Bank this year. According to the United Nations, more than 1,600 settler attacks were documented between January and August 2026, averaging 6.7 attacks per day, compared with five per day in 2025 and 1.5 per day in 2021.
The UN said attacks during the first eight months of the year affected 275 Palestinian communities, approaching the number affected throughout all of 2025 and more than double the number recorded in 2020.
The attacks increasingly extend beyond physical assaults on Palestinians to target homes, agricultural land, water and electricity infrastructure, and livelihoods, placing sustained pressure on Palestinian communities near Israeli settlements and outposts.
In a recently published report, the UN documented 32 settler attacks during a single monitoring period in early September, including attacks on homes, farmland, and water and electricity infrastructure. It also noted increasing restrictions on Palestinians’ access to their land and grazing areas.
Another UN report issued in early September said more than 6,400 Palestinians, including over 3,100 children, have been displaced since January 2023 amid settler attacks and related restrictions. More than 2,500 were displaced in 2026.
The figures point to a shift from isolated attacks to a recurring pattern affecting Palestinian communities surrounding Israeli settlements and outposts, particularly in the Nablus, Ramallah, Salfit and al-Khalil governorates.
As attacks spread across the occupied West Bank, Palestinians face a twofold escalation: settlers expanding attacks on their communities, land, and property, while settler groups intensify incursions and religious rituals at Aqsa Mosque. UN data increasingly identifies settler violence as a major driver of Palestinian displacement and worsening humanitarian needs across the occupied West Bank.
