Israeli occupier attacks in West Bank surge 63%: Palestinian agency

Attacks by Israeli occupiers across the West Bank surged 63% from January through July compared with the same period last year, a Palestinian government agency said Monday.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it recorded 4,113 attacks during the seven-month period, up from 2,524 a year earlier, an increase of 1,589 incidents.

The commission said the surge coincided with the expansion of illegal settlement outposts, particularly pastoral ones, as well as the arming of Israeli occupiers and the incorporation of some into security formations.

It also cited Israeli military protection and declining accountability as factors behind the rise.

The agency said weak international deterrence and accountability had helped turn attacks by Israeli occupiers from isolated incidents into an organized tool to impose new realities on the ground and push Palestinian communities toward displacement.

On Saturday, the commission said the occupied West Bank had 592 illegal Israeli settlements and outposts, while Israel controlled about 42% of the territory.

It put the number of Israeli occupiers living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, at around 780,000 as of the end of July, including 333,600 in illegal settlements in Jerusalem and 446,400 elsewhere in the West Bank.

Israel's escalation in the West Bank, including attacks by the army and occupiers since the start of the Gaza war, has killed 1,182 Palestinians and injured more than 12,000 others, in addition to the arrest of around 24,000, according to official Palestinian figures.