Palestinian Women Confront Settlers Amid Escalating West Bank Land Disputes and Record Settlement Expansion

Palestinian women recently confronted Israeli settlers attempting to raid land near Al-Mughayyir village, northeast of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The incident, reported by Ihab Hassan on social media, highlights the ongoing tensions and increasing violence in the region, which has seen a surge in Israeli settlement expansion and related attacks.

The confrontation in Al-Mughayyir comes amidst a period of intense activity in the village. According to reports from August 2025, Israeli military forces have been involved in uprooting thousands of olive trees in the area, citing security concerns related to a main Israeli settlement road. Marzouq Abu Naim, deputy head of the village council, stated that Israeli soldiers had stormed over 30 homes, destroying property and vehicles, following claims of a shooting incident involving an Israeli settler.

The broader context reveals a significant escalation of Israeli settlement activities across the West Bank. In 2024, a total of 28,872 housing units were advanced through planning and implementation stages in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This represents a 250% increase in settlement plans over a seven-year period since 2018, as detailed in a European Union report from August 2025. The report noted that 18,988 housing units were advanced in East Jerusalem and 9,884 in the rest of the West Bank.

This expansion is accompanied by a dramatic rise in settler violence. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 1,420 incidents of settler violence in 2024, a further increase from 1,189 incidents in 2023, marking the highest levels since monitoring began in 2006. These attacks have led to the forced displacement of approximately 47 Palestinian communities since October 2023. At least 671 Palestinians, including 129 children, were killed by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank from January 2024 to the end of July 2025, according to OCHA figures.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in July 2024 that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and obligates Israel to cease new settlement activities and evacuate settlers. Despite international condemnation, including from the EU and UN, Israel has continued to advance plans, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stating that such actions are "another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea" of a Palestinian state.