Rights groups call for help stopping Israeli 'pogrom' against Palestinians in West Bank

What Happened

On Friday, armed Israeli settlers entered the village of Tel near Nablus in the occupied West Bank and killed four Palestinians, according to Middle East Eye and rights groups. A Palestinian then seized a weapon from one of the settlers and opened fire, killing two settlers. An Israeli army investigation found that the settlers had entered an off-limits area, but the Israeli government ordered the army to demolish the home of the Palestinian accused of killing the two settlers. The military said it was conducting an operation in Nablus to arrest dozens of Palestinians who 'participated in the incident.' Rights groups including B'Tselem, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Adalah issued a statement calling on the international community to intervene, characterizing the escalating violence as 'pogroms' and noting that 'settler militias, enabled and supported by the Israeli army' have been attacking Palestinian property and forcibly expelling families. B'Tselem separately reported that Israeli forces killed 54 Palestinian children in the West Bank in 2025, the highest rate since 1967, and that nearly one in four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since October 2023 has been a minor, with no indictments or accountability.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The incident and the rights groups' urgent appeal underscore an escalating pattern of settler violence with military complicity in the West Bank, occurring alongside the ongoing Gaza war. The use of the term 'pogrom' and the reported record number of Palestinian child deaths since 2023 signal a deteriorating human rights environment that could fuel further unrest, complicate diplomatic efforts, and draw increased scrutiny from international legal bodies regarding potential violations of occupation law.

Watch For

Monitoring whether the UN, EU, US, or other international actors respond to the rights groups' call for intervention; the result of the Israeli military's arrest operation in Nablus; any new settler attacks or retaliatory violence in the West Bank; potential ICC or ICJ developments related to West Bank settlements and military operations; and any shift in Israeli government policy or settler militia mobilization.