![Palestinians inspect the damage to a house that Israeli settlers set fire to, where a Palestinian mother and daughter lived, in the Hallet al-Fara area of Yatta, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Palestine, on August 20, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AA-20260820-42257550-42257537-ISRAELI_SETTLERS_SET_FIRE_TO_A_HOUSE_IN_THE_WEST_BANK-1-scaled-e1787300941468.jpg)
Israeli army leaders on Thursday warned Defence Minister Israel Katz of the possibility of a “widespread eruption” in the occupied West Bank amid a sharp rise in settler attacks against Palestinians. Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources, that senior army commanders had issued a “strategic warning that the West Bank faces the risk of a major escalation amid a sharp increase in Jewish terrorism”, referring to settler attacks. According to the sources, the warning was issued during a recent closed-door meeting with Katz, where the army leaders, who were not named by the newspaper, said settler attacks were a “major factor in fuelling tensions”. They warned that attacks targeting Palestinian villages “drive Palestinian residents out of a […]
