Israeli soldiers admit ignoring illegal settlers' attacks on Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli soldiers admitted to ignoring attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank despite receiving prior warnings, a media report said Friday.

The Haaretz newspaper said 200 reservists sent a letter to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir expressing "deep concern over recent incidents of Jewish terror."

The soldiers said violence and "terror acts" against Palestinians in the West Bank have increased compared to the past.

They stated that the prevailing attitude toward "Jewish terror" has led to incidents being overlooked and pointed to cases where reservists participated in attacks against Palestinians.

One of the signatories said attacks by Israeli occupiers on Palestinian property were known in advance but were ignored, with troops arriving at the scene after the incidents had ended.

The soldier said that upon arrival, forces listened to occupiers who had set fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles and attacked residents, then politely asked them to leave while detaining Palestinians involved in the incidents.

He added that live ammunition was used against Palestinians who had been attacked.

Another signatory said practices carried out during the war in the Gaza Strip, including "excessive aggression, violence, and the destruction and looting of Palestinian property," were also carried over to the West Bank.

The soldiers said their primary duty was to protect Jewish settlements and settlers, and that Palestinian claims were ignored and no action was taken against Israelis in settlements built on Palestinian land.

The report also noted that attacks by occupiers have expanded beyond Areas B and C into deeper parts of Area A in the occupied West Bank.

Occupier attacks in the West Bank have escalated in recent weeks, with eight Palestinians reportedly killed by occupier gunfire since late February, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in hundreds of settlements across the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem. Occupiers carry out frequent attacks on Palestinians that rights groups said aim to forcibly displace them.

Violent attacks have intensified across the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, encompassing killings, demolitions, displacement and settlement expansion.

The Israeli attacks have claimed at least 1,136 Palestinian lives, wounded at least 11,700 others, and led to the arrest of roughly 22,000 people, according to official Palestinian figures, amid international warnings that Israel may move to annex the territory.