Why are Israeli settlers on a rampage in the occupied West Bank?

EXPLAINERSettlers torch two mosques in the Palestinian territory as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu threatens ‘more broad action’.An Israeli soldier aims his weapon as he and other soldiers keep watch during Israeli settlers' weekly tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 25, 2026 [Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]Published On 26 Jul 2026Israeli settlers, backed by the military, have been on a rampage in the occupied West Bank, torching at least two mosques and detaining dozens of Palestinians days after killing four of them.Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been on edge for the last two days after Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinians in the town of Tal, near Nablus, during a settler incursion on their land.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israel arrests dozens of Palestinians in West Bank amid settler attackslist 2 of 4Israel arrests nine at Tel Aviv protest against West Bank settler violencelist 3 of 4House of Hope: New film follows a Waldorf-inspired school in the West Banklist 4 of 4What’s behind the Israeli crackdown in the occupied West Bank?end of listTwo Israelis were also killed in the confrontation.Here is what to know about the tensions in the West Bank:A Palestinian boy sits outside a mosque damaged by Israeli settlers, in Qusra near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 26, 2026 [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]What’s happening?Last Friday, nearly 30 settlers entered Tal, next to the illegal Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad, and tried to break into two houses when residents confronted them. The settlers opened fire.A video shows a Palestinian man seizing a rifle from a settler and shooting him before soldiers shoot him dead. Three others were killed and four people wounded.Following the killing of two Israelis, the military deployed additional troops across the occupied Palestinian territory.After vowing to avenge the killings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military “is prepared to act more broadly in terrorist strongholds”.“The instructions we gave were to enter villages, search them, seize weapons and make arrests,” Netanyahu told reporters.Which mosques were torched?Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the village council in Qusra village southeast of Nablus, said Israeli settlers torched a mosque early on Sunday, as attackers sprayed slogans in Hebrew on its walls with messages, including “Jewish revenge” and the name of one of the Israelis killed near Tal.“The village has faced repeated attacks since 2011, and these attacks have increased since the war [on Gaza],” Wadi told Reuters news agency.Palestinian officials said settlers also tried to burn a mosque near Kour, southeast of the city of Tulkarem.Farid Jiyousi, a member of the village council, said three settlers tried to set the mosque ablaze at dawn, but worshippers put out the fire before it reached the main area of the mosque.“This is the first attack our village has experienced,” he said, adding that the attackers had also sprayed graffiti in Hebrew on the mosque walls.A surveillance camera captured the moment Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.The video, published on local social media accounts, shows settlers attacking the house and setting part of it ablaze.The settlers then fled after setting the house on fire, while Palestinian residents managed to control the fire and to limit the damage.How many settler attacks were reported?Israeli Army Radio reported at least 30 settler attacks across the Palestinian territory since Friday.Overall, such attacks have surged 63 percent in the first half of 2026, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing security data, with at least 660 incidents recorded as opposed to 405 in the second half of 2025.“During the weekend, an unusual number of 30 nationalist crime incidents were recorded in the territories,” it said.Since October 2023, at least 1,185 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including 250 children. At least 87 Palestinians have been killed so far in the territory in 2026, including 21 killed by settlers.“Last night was a sleepless one for Palestinians across the occupied West Bank. People are basically under lockdown, isolated, unable to call the firefighters, unable to call for any help or protection – not from the Palestinian police and certainly not from the Israeli army that accompanies the settlers,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said, reporting from the West Bank.“They have to stay up to protect their homes from arson attacks by settlers, to protect their loved ones from attacks by settlers. So for Palestinians, this is deadly serious,” she said.“They understand that they’re all on their own.”Palestinians repair a damaged house following an attack by Israeli settlers in the village of Sarra, near the West Bank city of Nablus, July 25, 2026 [Leo Correa/AP]How many Palestinians have been detained?The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said the detained individuals included former Palestinian prisoners.The arrests were concentrated in the occupied West Bank’s Nablus governorate, where the Israeli army has been carrying out incursions.Specifically in the town of Tal, large-scale raids and interrogations are taking place, according to the monitor group.The number of those arrested in the town since Friday reached about 80, most of whom have since been released. About 18 Palestinians, including children, remain in detention.