Full Breakdown
Escalating Settlement Expansion and Violence in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank
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Settlement Expansion and Violence
Journalist Gideon Levy, a long-time Haaretz columnist, described the pattern he observed while traveling west of the Green Line toward Nablus. Levy said settlers regularly burn cars, fields, olive trees and houses, and occasionally kill shepherds, characterising the attacks as “pogroms.” He added that Israeli soldiers and police “stand idly by” or sometimes “participate in the pogroms,” leaving the area “lawless.”
Political Backdrop and International Response
In June 2026, more than 200 former Israeli officials—including ex-prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, former heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, former IDF chiefs, judges and academics—issued a letter warning that settler violence was part of an “ethnic-cleansing” strategy aimed at enabling annexation. The letter accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of failing to confront “Jewish terrorism.”
Concurrently, the United Kingdom, led by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, joined eleven other countries in imposing trade and financial restrictions on the occupied West Bank.
Official Statements & Responses
Miliband defended the sanctions as a defense of the two-state solution and of security for both peoples. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee dismissed the British measures as “irrational” and “discrimination against the Jewish people,” arguing that they betray Israel’s interests.
Criticism & Opposition
Levy’s on-the-ground reporting underscores the disconnect between official rhetoric and daily realities for Palestinians living under settlement expansion. The former-officials’ letter frames the violence as a systematic, state-funded campaign, contrasting sharply with the UK’s portrayal of sanctions as a principled stand for a two-state future. Huckabee’s criticism reflects a segment of pro-Israel advocacy that rejects the notion of a distinct Palestinian identity and opposes external pressure on settlement activity.
Verbatim Quotes
- “There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” — Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel