The Fire in the West Bank Is Burning Hotter, Out of Sight

The prickly pear cactus, a widely recognized symbol in Palestinian culture, representing steadfastness and the ability to survive prolonged hardship while remaining rooted to the land, even in harsh conditions.Credit...Valerio Muscella

Ms. Sasson is a former senior official in Israel’s State Attorney’s Office and former president of the New Israel Fund. She wrote from Tel Aviv.

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, last week passed a law allowing the hanging of Palestinians convicted of killings during militant attacks, using language that effectively exempts Jewish perpetrators of nationalistic violence. This legislation is both unconstitutional and discriminatory. Beyond its fundamental immorality, the law is part of a larger, accelerating effort to systematically end once and for all the possibility of a Palestinian state. That effort includes the uncontrolled surge in violence by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and a strategic restructuring of the West Bank’s administration intended to make it easier for settlers and the state to seize Palestinian land.

An alliance of settlers and far-right politicians is the primary engine behind this radical transformation. While polls show that most Israelis support it, the legislation was pushed through by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the survival of his governing coalition by indulging the vengeance narrative that serves as the cornerstone of the political goals of the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key partner in the coalition.

Its passage comes on the heels of a sharp escalation in near-daily acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank over the past year. Settlers have raided Palestinian villages, setting fire to homes and vehicles, harming livestock and uprooting trees. In February and March alone, settlers reportedly killed eight Palestinians.

Settlers continue to establish illegal outposts within Area A — territory that under the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s is designated for full Palestinian civil and security control. According to data from the United Nations, 36,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes in the West Bank last year, 3,500 of them forced out directly by settler violence. This trend intensified in the first three months of 2026, with 1,697 Palestinians already displaced.

Historically, Israeli soldiers have been reluctant to enforce the law when Jewish settlers commit crimes, often viewing such actions as an unwanted entanglement in political disputes over the fate of the West Bank. This reluctance has evolved into radicalization among troops since Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right government took office in late 2022 — and that radicalization has sharply accelerated since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. In several documented instances, soldiers have even reportedly participated in crimes against Palestinians. Conversely, in some cases where soldiers have attempted to curb settlers’ illegal behavior, they have found themselves the targets of settler attacks.

Last month, a CNN crew arrived in the village of Tayasir in the northern Jordan Valley to report on an attack by settlers and the establishment of an illegal outpost. While documenting the scene, the journalists were assaulted and detained by Israeli soldiers for two hours at gunpoint. During the detention, soldiers were captured on camera echoing settler ideology, defending the outposts and speaking of acting out of revenge. The military labeled the matter a “grave ethical incident” and took the highly unusual step of suspending the operations of the entire battalion, mainly composed of former members of the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda unit. The battalion’s commanders were reprimanded, and one soldier was ejected from the military.

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