On Tuesday, November 11, 2025, a wave of violence swept through the West Bank as dozens of masked Israeli settlers stormed the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, setting fire to vehicles, dairy trucks, farmland, tin shacks, and tents belonging to a Bedouin community. The attacks, described by Israeli President Isaac Herzog as “shocking and serious,” marked another grim chapter in an intensifying pattern of settler violence that has left Palestinians reeling and drawn rare public condemnation from Israel’s top leadership.
According to The Wire, the violence erupted when settlers targeted Palestinian property and later clashed with Israeli soldiers in a nearby industrial zone, damaging a military vehicle. The Israeli military reported that four Palestinians were wounded and evacuated for medical treatment. In the aftermath, Israeli police arrested four Israelis for what was described as extremist violence, though by Wednesday evening, three had already been released from custody, as reported by The Times of Israel.
President Herzog, whose largely ceremonial role is intended to serve as a moral compass for the country, spoke out forcefully on social media early Wednesday. “All state authorities must act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon and to strengthen the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] fighters and security forces who protect us day and night,” he wrote, adding that the attacks had “crossed a red line.” Herzog’s intervention was notable for its urgency and clarity, especially against a backdrop of what many see as muted criticism from other top Israeli officials.
The Israeli army’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, echoed Herzog’s condemnation. In a press release cited by CBC News, Zamir stated, “The military will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals who tarnish a law-abiding public.” He emphasized that such attacks “divert the attention of our forces from fulfilling their mission,” and pledged that the army was “determined to stop this phenomenon and will act decisively until justice is served.”
Major General Avi Bluth, head of the IDF’s Central Command, was equally forthright. “The directive to IDF soldiers is clear: do not stand idly by, and do everything in your power to prevent any act of nationalist crime,” he said, according to a military spokesperson. Bluth described the violence as an “unacceptable situation” that forces significant resources to be diverted from security and counterterrorism operations.
The attacks have not only traumatized the affected communities but also exposed deep fissures within Israeli society and its approach to law enforcement in the occupied territories. Palestinian official Muayyad Shaaban, who heads the government’s Commission against the Wall and Settlements, accused Israel of giving settlers “protection and immunity.” He called for sanctions against groups that “sponsor and support the colonial settlement terrorism project,” according to ADN and CBC News.
For residents of the targeted villages, fear and uncertainty now color daily life. Mahmoud Edeis, a resident of Beit Lid, voiced the anguish felt by many Palestinians: “To feel that my children are safe, that when I go to sleep I can say, ‘Okay, there’s nothing [to worry about],’” he told ADN. “But at any moment something could happen… This can’t go on. It can’t be that we keep living our whole lives in a state of fear and danger.”
Amjad Amer Al-Juneidi, who works at the dairy factory attacked on Tuesday, described the assault as “fully organized.” He recounted, “Their entry into the company wasn’t random. It was organized, and they had a fully organized tactic for how to carry out the burning.” According to Shaaban, the attackers set fire to four dairy trucks, farmland, tin shacks, and tents, all belonging to a Bedouin community—an act he said was part of a broader campaign to drive Palestinians from their land.
The violence comes amid a sharp uptick in settler attacks, particularly during the annual olive harvest, when Palestinians and volunteers gather to pick fruit from trees that often stand on contested land. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported a staggering 264 settler attacks in October 2025 alone, the highest monthly toll since it began tracking such incidents in 2006. As The New Arab noted, Israeli security data indicated at least 704 settler attacks by October 2025, surpassing the total for all of 2024.
Palestinians and human rights organizations have long accused Israeli authorities of failing to halt, or even tacitly enabling, settler violence. “The arrest of Israelis suspected of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank is a rare phenomenon and perpetrators are rarely prosecuted,” The Times of Israel observed. This perception is exacerbated by the rapid release of most suspects following the latest incident.
Israel’s government remains dominated by politicians who are outspoken proponents of the settler movement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who formulates settlement policy, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, have both been criticized for their roles. Internationally, the violence has drawn condemnation and even sanctions. Canada, for example, imposed sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir in 2025, as reported by CBC News, and reiterated its opposition to settlements and settler violence in a statement: “Canada strongly condemns the violent acts committed by extremist settlers and opposes any actions or talk about annexation of the Palestinian territories.”
The recent violence is not an isolated event. Over the past two years, since the war in Gaza began, attacks by young settlers have surged, often coinciding with the olive harvest. Palestinian rights groups have also pointed to a spike in army detentions and raids in the West Bank since October 2023, with nearly a thousand Palestinians killed and tens of thousands injured or arrested during that period.
The ongoing unrest has left many Palestinians feeling increasingly vulnerable, with some officials warning that the pattern of violence and lack of accountability is fueling a cycle of fear and displacement. The UN and most of the international community continue to regard Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law—a position Israel disputes, citing historical and security reasons.
As the dust settles from the latest attacks, the calls for justice and accountability grow louder. Whether these appeals will translate into meaningful change remains uncertain. For now, the villagers of Beit Lid, Deir Sharaf, and countless others across the West Bank are left to pick up the pieces, hoping for a future where their right to safety is no longer in question.
