A shocking surge of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reached a grim record in October 2025, with the United Nations reporting the highest number of monthly attacks since it began tracking this data nearly two decades ago. This escalation occurred despite a ceasefire holding in Gaza, highlighting a devastating and separate crisis unfolding in the territory.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during October . This figure represents the biggest monthly total since the UN began systematically documenting such incidents in 2006, averaging eight violent events every day . In a broader context, OCHA has documented over 9,600 settler attacks since 2006, with roughly 1,500 occurring in 2025 alone, meaning about 15% of all recorded attacks in the past 19 years happened in just the first ten months of this year . Other Palestinian authorities report an even higher figure for October, documenting over 2,300 attacks by settlers and Israeli forces combined .
This violence is not isolated but part of a documented pattern that human rights organizations link to Israel's policy of consolidating annexation of Palestinian land, which is illegal under international law . The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory states that these ongoing attacks, often supported or joined by Israeli security forces, are intended to "instil fear, destroy homes and livelihoods, and force Palestinians out of their lands" . This campaign of forced transfer has displaced approximately 3,200 Palestinians from Bedouin and herding communities since October 2023 . The violence is accelerating annexation, with a rapid increase in new illegal settler outposts—84 in the past year compared to an average of eight per year in the previous decade .
The human toll of this violence is profound, with Palestinian children paying a particularly heavy price. OCHA reports that 42 Palestinian children had been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2025 so far, meaning one in every five Palestinians killed was a child . This continues a devastating trend from earlier in the year; UNICEF had previously reported that 13 Palestinian children were killed in the first two months of 2025 . Save the Children further contextualized this crisis, noting that almost half of all Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since records began in 2005 have lost their lives in just the last two years . The violence also intensifies during critical periods like the annual olive harvest, a vital source of livelihood for many families. In October, attacks included farmers being beaten, journalists assaulted, vehicles set on fire, and the destruction of thousands of olive trees .
The dramatic escalation in the West Bank creates a stark contrast with the situation in Gaza, where a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began in October has calmed the fighting and led to the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners . While international attention has been focused on implementing the fragile Gaza truce, the wave of settler violence and military operations in the West Bank has continued unabated . This has left Palestinians in the West Bank facing what the UN and human rights groups describe as a relentless campaign of aggression and a shrinking space for Palestinian life, even as a separate peace process tentatively advances elsewhere .