Competing Israeli and Palestinian accounts of the deadly confrontation near Nablus highlight deep disputes over settler violence, terrorism, and the risk of wider unrest<\/p>\n
The deadly confrontation in Tell near Nablus last week and the\u00a0conflict\u00a0that followed have intensified competing claims over settler violence and Palestinian attacks, while raising a broader question: how much further can the West Bank\/Judea and Samaria deteriorate before localized confrontations develop into a sustained uprising in the form of an intifada?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The precise sequence of events at Tell remains hotly contested. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Palestinian accounts said armed settlers entered the area surrounding Tell, southwest of Nablus, and confronted residents. During the encounter, a Palestinian seized a weapon from one of the Israelis and opened fire. Israeli soldiers then became involved. Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israeli accounts characterized the incident as a terrorist attack and emphasized that Palestinians had taken possession of a firearm and used it against Israelis. Publicly available videos documented parts of the confrontation but did not conclusively\u00a0establish\u00a0who fired every shot or the sequence leading to each fatality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Naomi Kahn, director of the International Division at the Israeli land-use advocacy group Regavim, cautioned that her assessment was based only on publicly available information. She nevertheless argued that initial allegations against settlers often receive greater attention than later information complicating the original account.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It comes onto the screen with a roar, and it goes off the screen with a whimper<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes onto the screen with a roar, and it goes off the screen with a whimper,\u201d Kahn told The Media Line.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simcha Rothman, an Israeli lawmaker, similarly argued that the classification of an incident can\u00a0determine\u00a0the wider narrative.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not count as victims of terrorism people who went out to attack others and died as a result of self-defense,\u201d Rothman told The Media Line.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said Palestinians who attacked Israelis, seized a\u00a0weapon\u00a0and were\u00a0subsequently\u00a0shot could still be recorded in international databases as Palestinian fatalities connected to settlers. Rothman described the wider discourse surrounding settler violence as \u201ca blood libel and wild lies,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nidal Foqaha, a Palestinian political analyst, disputed the idea that Tell could be understood separately from the conditions surrounding it. He described the incident as a foreseeable result of settlement expansion, agricultural outposts and pressure on Palestinian land and livelihoods.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, this is the result of the Israeli government\u2019s ongoing policies on the ground, particularly the expansion of the settlement project through the many farms spread across the Palestinian territories,\u00a0mainly throughout\u00a0Area C. It has now started expanding into Area B and\u00a0probably even\u00a0Area A,\u201d Foqaha told The Media Line.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis policy, which is linked to violent and terrorist behavior by radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank, has created enormous despair and frustration among Palestinians. As a result, we\u00a0witnessed\u00a0what happened on Friday in Tell,\u201d he asserted\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Foqaha,\u201cPalestinians have found themselves losing their sources of livelihood, including their land, olive trees,\u00a0sheep\u00a0and cattle. This situation resulted in\u00a0this\u00a0explosion. Unfortunately, it was expected. Anyone looking at the reality on the ground and what is happening in the West Bank would have expected that it would come one day,\u201d he claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, it was expected. Anyone looking at the reality on the ground and what is happening in the West Bank would have expected that it would come one day<\/p>\n
Abdallah Abu Rahma, director general of Popular Action and Resilience Support at the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, said Palestinian residents were initially unarmed and inside the village when the Israelis approached.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Palestinian citizens in Tell were not armed. They were on their own land and inside their homes,\u201d Abu Rahma said. \u201cThey did not go to the settlers. They were in their homes. The settlers were the ones who came to them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that a Palestinian later took possession of a weapon but disputed the interpretation that the man intended to carry out a premeditated attack.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that Farouq was running away from them,\u201d Abu Rahma said. \u201cFarouq then managed to throw away the weapon he had taken because he did not want to carry out any operation. He went to surrender himself to the army,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israeli accounts\u00a0maintain\u00a0that the seized firearm was used against Israelis, and the public material does not resolve every stage of the encounter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The territorial status of the area is also disputed. Kahn placed the confrontation \u201cmore or less on a seamline between Area C\u201d and \u201cArea B.\u201d Under the Oslo framework, Area C\u00a0remains\u00a0under full Israeli civilian and security control, while in Area B the Palestinian\u00a0Authority(PA) administers civilian affairs and Israel\u00a0retains\u00a0security authority. Several international outlets, however,\u00a0located\u00a0the event in Area A, where the PA holds civilian and security responsibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rothman argued that unauthorized entry into an area does not justify violence against the person who entered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsraeli Arabs, citizens of Israel, enter Area A all the time,\u201d he said, noting that many travel there to shop. \u201cThere is a subtext that says that if you are Jewish, there are areas you are forbidden to enter.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond the legal dispute, the four interviews produced sharply different assessments of why armed civilians approached the village, how the military responded and whether Israeli security forces apply the law impartially.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abu Rahma argued that the distinction between settlers and the military has become increasingly blurred since October 7, 2023, as reservists and members of local security units were mobilized.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the role of the army and the settlers is comprehensive. In\u00a0previous\u00a0stages, we used to say that the army protected the settlers during their attacks. But today, what we see is that the army\u00a0participates\u00a0in the settlers\u2019 attacks,\u201d he claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kahn rejected the characterization of settler violence as an organized campaign. She acknowledged that some Israelis attack Palestinians but described those involved as \u201ca small handful of generally very young people,\u201d including minors who have left conventional family and educational frameworks and sometimes also confront the IDF.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not\u00a0an organized\u00a0anything,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a collection of troubled teens,\u201d she added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kahn estimated that fewer than 0.2% of the Israeli population living in Judea and Samaria\/The West Bank had\u00a0participated\u00a0in such confrontations. She described genuine attacks against Palestinians as \u201cdeplorable\u201d and said those responsible should be investigated and\u00a0prosecuted, but\u00a0rejected using those cases to characterize the broader Israeli population in the territory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented a sustained rise in incidents involving Israeli settlers that resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage, including physical assaults, damage to homes and vehicles, livestock theft, destruction of agricultural land and restrictions on access to water and grazing areas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regavim disputes how those incidents are categorized. Its 2025 report, False Flags and Real Agendas, examined 8,332 incident entries used in an OCHA dataset covering January 2016 through April 2023. The organization argued that the database combined deliberate attacks by Israelis with acts of self-defense, administrative enforcement, confrontations involving Israeli security forces, and Palestinians injured or killed while carrying out attacks or alleged attacks. It cited OCHA\u2019s definition, which says its data \u201calso includes Palestinians killed or injured during attacks or alleged attacks they perpetrated against Israeli settlers.\u201d Regavim acknowledged that Israelis sometimes commit violence against Palestinians and said such cases merit condemnation and prosecution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
OCHA\u2019s figures document reported events and their consequences but do not resolve the disputed circumstances of every case. Regavim\u2019s methodological criticism, in turn, does not\u00a0establish\u00a0that all or most reported attacks were incorrectly classified.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Palestinians living near settlements and outposts, the effect is measured not only through casualty data but also through access to farmland, roads, grazing\u00a0areas\u00a0and water sources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foqaha\u00a0said agricultural outposts were particularly consequential because a small number of residents could\u00a0establish\u00a0control over a much larger area.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about approximately 130 farms in the West Bank. We are not talking about tens of thousands of people living on these farms. Most of them\u00a0contain\u00a0between five and ten people, and sometimes even fewer,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means that, if there is a political decision and if there is\u00a0the\u00a0will, the phenomenon can\u00a0definitely be\u00a0contained. But until today, there has been no such decision,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the Jordan Valley,\u00a0Foqaha\u00a0said he had personally\u00a0witnessed\u00a0the effect on Palestinian agriculture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see that the settlers throughout the Jordan Valley have not left a single water spring for Palestinians to irrigate their crops or provide water for their livestock,\u201d he claimed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an example of what is happening throughout the Palestinian territories. Palestinians are aware that there is an ultimate\u00a0objective\u00a0behind all these policies. When you take away all their sources of livelihood, prevent them from working inside Israel and impose all these restrictions on them, it is an attempt to push them out of this space,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abu Rahma separately claimed that small groups based in settler outposts communicate and coordinate with one another.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese groups are organized and coordinated. They communicate with one another\u00a0in order to\u00a0attack Palestinian citizens,\u201d he alleged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
That assertion directly contradicts Kahn\u2019s description of those involved as disconnected and troubled young people rather than participants in an organized structure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following Tell, the Israeli military intensified operations across the northern West Bank\/Judea and Samaria. Roads and village entrances were blocked, searches were conducted, and dozens of Palestinians were detained. Israeli authorities described the operations as necessary to\u00a0locate\u00a0suspects, seize weapons and prevent further attacks. Kahn argued that the restrictions primarily concerned access to Israeli-controlled territory rather than movement within areas administered by the Palestinian Authority.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abu Rahma said the closures extended across a broader network of Palestinian roads and village entrances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Israeli army is blocking roads. This is the army\u2019s role alongside the settler groups,\u201d he said. \u201cVillages are completely closed, and their gates are closed, preventing citizens from entering or leaving,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Israeli army is blocking roads. This is the army\u2019s role alongside the settler groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis affects freedom of movement, freedom of worship, access to education, access to medical\u00a0treatment\u00a0and the ability to work,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The military response was accompanied by rhetoric of retaliation from members of Israel\u2019s governing coalition, while further attacks and confrontations were reported around Nablus,\u00a0Hebron\u00a0and nearby villages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rothman placed responsibility for Palestinian attacks on the Palestinian Authority\u2019s education system, official\u00a0media\u00a0and prisoner-payment policy. He also argued that \u201cEuropean governments financing Palestinian institutions should examine where that money is directed and whether it supports structures that encourage violence.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foqaha, by contrast, defended the PA\u2019s decision not to deploy its forces into an open confrontation with the Israeli army or armed settlers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suggestion that it should send forces into a confrontation is not realistic at all, and it is not responsible,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suggestion that it [the PA] should send forces into a confrontation is not realistic at all, and it is not responsible<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is\u00a0actually what\u00a0the radical, extreme voices in Israel want. They want an open confrontation with the PA\u00a0in order to\u00a0turn the entire West Bank into what happened in the Gaza Strip\u2014or, in the least severe scenario, into what happened in the refugee camps,\u201d he alleged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foqaha said the PA had instead chosen political and diplomatic channels to prevent further deterioration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would bring extremely damaging and fatal consequences for both Palestinians and Israelis,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is what the Palestinian Authority does not want,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The danger is that the ability of political and security institutions to restrain events may weaken as confrontations become more frequent and geographically dispersed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abu Rahma called for peaceful popular resistance, local protection\u00a0committees\u00a0and international intervention.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne side has protection and assistance from the army, the police, the judiciary and legislation, as well as access to weapons,\u201d he said. \u201cThe other side consists of civilians whose fundamental means of resistance\u00a0are remaining\u00a0on their land and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0their resilience,\u201d he asserted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He warned that continued attacks on families, homes and property could eventually produce reactions political institutions might be unable to\u00a0contain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a human instinct to defend our children, our property and our existence,\u201d Abu Rahma said. \u201cUnfortunately\u00a0violence can lead to further violence,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rothman rejected the premise that the principal danger of escalation stems from Israeli military operations or settler violence. Citing open-source material concerning PA forces, he described them as \u201can organized army of the Palestinian Authority\u201d and claimed that elements within the system were \u201cplanning an October 7 for us, from their perspective, in Judea and Samaria.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kahn likewise said Israel could not depend entirely on PA forces to prevent violence, pointing to\u00a0previous\u00a0cases in which Palestinian security personnel were accused of attacking Israelis. She argued that Israel must\u00a0retain\u00a0the ability to enter PA-administered areas, arrest suspects and impose temporary restrictions when necessary to prevent \u201cfurther flare-ups.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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