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March 20, 2026

1. WEST BANK: New Enclave in Hebron, Officer Invades Area A to Remove Archaeological Artifact, Outpost Demolitions & Hilltop Youth Protest
2. STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM
3. Further Reading

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WEST BANK

New Settlement Enclave in Hebron

Peace Now reports settlers have entered a second-floor apartment in the Old City of Hebron, establishing a new settlement enclave – called “Ma’ale Doron” – just east of the Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque compound, right in the heart of a densely populated Palestinian neighborhood. In order to establish and continue protecting the new settlement enclave, the IDF has set up and maintained a constant presence in the neighborhood as settlers are required to pass through crowded streets in the Old City of Hebron to access the apartment.

In September 2025, settlers seized another property – called “Valero House” – on one of the main access roads, Shallala Street, available for Palestinians to reach the Old City of Hebron.

 

Israeli Police Officer Seizes Archaeological Artifact from Area A

On March 18th, an Israeli police officer and IDF troops entered the Palestinian village of Kafr Dhaba and unlawfully seized an archaeological artifact, a stone bearing an engraving of a menorah. Kfar Dhaba is located in Area A of the West Bank, and the IDF, the Civil Administration, and the Israeli police have all denied involvement in the expedition. 

The officer, Meir Rotter, is an amateur archaeologist, and said on a leaked video that his deceased friend had spotted in the village way back in 2017 (though exact details of when, why, and how Israeli officers were in the Palestinian city in 2017 are unclear). Rotter serves as the head of the Israeli Police’s ultra-orthodox community department, with no authority in the West Bank.

Emek Shaveh said on X:

“The officer, Meir Rotter, is not an archaeologist. He doesn’t work for the Civil Administration’s archaeology unit, and has zero authority to enforce anything in an area which is entirely Palestinian control. Yet there he was surrounded by soldiers and boasting about it on video claiming he was “rescuing the find” and took the stone away. Considering the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, you make ask why does this matter? Because for years settlers have led a vicious campaign accusing Palestinians of looting antiquities. And then in broad daylight they do something that feels very much like looting but they call it  “redemption” knowing that they are backed by a system that guarantees total impunity.”

 

IDF Barring Bedouin from Returning to Land

The Times of Israel reports the IDF continues to bar bedouin residents from returning to the lands which they fled earlier this year under escalating settler terrorism. The village of Khallet a-Sidra was forced to flee after an exceedingly violent attack by settlers on January 17th, during which the settlers from the Kol Mevaser outpost burned down most of the homes in the village. At least one of the village residents, XXX, has moved to an encampment near the village of Mukhmas, a town that is also under constant settler violence and threat.

The IDF has repeatedly removed settlers and their makeshift buildings from the Kol Mevaser outpost, but the settlers continue to re-establish a presence on the hilltop in defiance of IDF actions. No settlers have been arrested in connection to the violence against Khallet al-Sidra or Mukhmas.

 

Settlers Attack IDF Soldiers Following Outpost Demolition Near Hebron

Settlers attacked Israeli forces that were building barriers near the area where an outpost was demolished by the IDF the night before, injuring one soldier with a large rock. Settlers also slashed the tires of an IDF vehicle; five were detained on the scene. The barrier is meant to prevent the settlers’ return

 

Hilltop Youth Organize Settler Protest Against Outpost Demolitions

Settlers held a protest on March 17th against what they see as repeated IDF demolitions of new illegal outposts across the West Bank. In recent weeks the IDF has carried out a few notable demolitions against newer outposts that have been hot beds of violent terror, including: Kol Mevaser and Or Nachman, both of which settlers have already re-built.

 

STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERRORISM

Yesh Din documents 170 settler attacks against PAlestinians since the U.S./Israel war on Iran started just 17 days ago — a rate of 10 attacks each day. As a result, six Palesitnians hove been shot and killed by settlers, and five have been shot and killed by IDF.. A small sample of state-backed settler terrorism over the past week include:

• Qusra (March 14): Settlers shot and killed a man, Amir Odeh, in their day-long repeated attacks on the Palestinian village of Qusra, located south of Nablus. Residents of Qusra told Haaretz that settlers from a nearby outpost (in Area B) repeatedly attacked the village on March 14th, throwing stones and attacking homes but retreating to the outpost intermittently. IDF forces arrived at the outpost and spoke to the settlers, but just 30 minutes after the IDF left the outpost, settlers again attacked Qusra, this time firing long range missiles towards the house resulting in the murder of one and injury of two others with gunshots. Three settlers were detained and later released in connection with the murder. 
• In the Jordan Valley, three significant incidents:
  • On March 13th, in Tammun, Israeli forces opened fire on a car carrying the Bani Odeh family, killing four people – the mother, father and two children while wounding two surviving children.
  • On March 12th, Settlers attacked the small bedouin village of Khirbet Humsa in the northern Jordan Valley. Settlers reportedly inflicted many acts of violence on the Palestinians and solidarity activists staying with them, including death and rape threats and severe beatings, one man has reported that the settlers sexually assaulted him in addition to beating him and threatening his life. Settlers stole 350 sheep, loading them into 6 vans, and other valuables. The settlers are known to have retreated to the nearby Beqaot outpost. In just the past few weeks, four communities have been forced to flee Jordan Valley communities under the threat of escalating settler terrorism.
  • On March 8th, an Israeli IDF commander told at least four Palestinian communities in the northern Jordan Valley that they are located on Jewish land and are “better off leaving” because Israel plans to build a new separation wall  on their land. The communities are: Khirbet Samra, Khallet Makhoul, Ein Al-Hilweh, Hammamat Al-Malih, and Al-Farisiya.
• Mukhmas (March 19th): After the IDF demolished the Kol Mevaser outpost, settlers carried out a retaliatory attack on the nearby village of Mukhmas, attempting to set fire to a chicken coop and buildings on the outskirts of the town.
• Khirbet al-Tawil (March 19th): Settlers attacked three Palestinian children while they were grazing livestock. IDF arrived and detained the children’s father and others who arrived to rescue the kids. The armed settlers left on quad bikes.

 

FURTHER READING

1. “How Israel Used the War in Gaza to Accelerate Settlements in the West Bank” (The New Yorker, 3/14/2026)
2. “Israel Deports Jewish American Activist Who Reported West Bank Settler Hitting Palestinian Girl With Car” (Haaretz, 3/15/2026)
3. “Mowed down with firearms: settler terror in West Bank leaves Palestinians ‘humiliated’ after killing 3 men in village” (Mondoweiss, 3/13/2026)
4. “Annexation without a declaration- Israel’s quiet seizure of the West Bank” (MEMO, 3/15/2026)
5. “The Gendered Impact of Forced Displacement on Palestinian Families from Northern WestBank Refugee Camps” (MIFTAH, December 2025)
6. “How Israel Is Using Archaeology to Confiscate Palestinian Land” (Sojourners, 3/17/2026)
7. “As violence escalates in the West Bank, a Catholic woman leads civilian protection” (NCR, 3/18/2026)
8. “Taybeh: West Bank Christian town under renewed settler incursion” (Vatican News, 3/19/2026)