Israeli crackdown intensifies in West Bank as settler violence surges

The Israeli military has launched an aggressive crackdown across the occupied West Bank, storming towns and villages and detaining hundreds of Palestinians, following a deadly shootout on Friday that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers .

The “wide-scale military operation” ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensified on Sunday, as Jewish settlers grew bolder and more violent marauding through villages, scrawling graffiti on buildings, and attacking Palestinians .

In the town of Qusra, southeast of Nablus, settlers attempted to set the newly built Al-Rahma Mosque ablaze, spray-painting slogans such as “Jewish revenge” on its walls, according to Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the village council. Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed fire consuming the mosque .

A second mosque, in the village of Kour south of Tulkarem, was also targeted in an arson attack. Farid Jiyousi, a member of the village council, said three settlers tried to set the mosque ablaze at dawn, but worshippers managed to extinguish the flames before they could reach the main prayer area .

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said Israeli forces raided Rafidia near Nablus as part of the ongoing military operation .

Political analysts have linked the escalating violence to domestic political pressures on Netanyahu . Opinion polls suggest the Prime Minister could lose power, and land grabs along with accelerating the establishment of new illegal settlements sit well with his right-wing support base . Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced plans to build 763 new units in the illegal Eli settlement, south of Nablus, a move likely to further inflame tensions .

The violence has not gone unchallenged inside Israel. Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against the surge in settler violence and the military crackdown in the West Bank. Israeli police arrested nine protesters, stating that the demonstrations had gone ahead without authorization and had begun to “disrupt public order and block the roadway” .

The intensification of military operations and settler violence marks a significant escalation in the occupied territory, coming amid broader regional turmoil including developments in Gaza and along the Lebanese border . The international community has repeatedly condemned settlement expansion and settler violence, though such condemnations have done little to curb the trend in recent years .