Illegal Israeli settlers hoist US flag amid attacks on Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers raised the US flag at a settlement outpost in Ramallah, and at least 36 people, including journalists, were wounded in attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Illegal Israeli settlers raised the US flag at a settlement outpost built on the lands of the Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah, in the occupied central West Bank.

Marwan Sabah, head of the village council, told Anadolu that residents were surprised in the morning to see the US flag flying over the outpost established on Jabal al-Ras, north of Umm Safa.

Sabah noted that “this is the first time the US flag has been raised at the outpost, despite the US having imposed sanctions on the settler responsible for establishing it.”

Palestinian authorities said 36 people were treated, including two from live bullets, following attacks by illegal settlers and Israeli forces in the towns of Beita, Huwara, and Deir Sharaf in Nablus.

According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, illegal settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were harvesting olives in the Jabal Qamas area of Beita, beating them and setting fire to three vehicles, one of which belonged to an AFP photographer.

Israeli forces raided the area and fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters towards civilians, causing several cases of suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.

Journalists attacked

Local sources told Anadolu that three journalists were wounded during the Israeli raid.

Similar settler attacks were reported in the villages of Aqraba, Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, and Ammuriya, south of Nablus.

In the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate in the central West Bank, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinians while they were collecting olives in the village of Kafr Ni’ma, west of Ramallah, after settlers assaulted them in the area.

Such settler attacks typically intensify during the annual olive harvest season, which provides a main source of income for many Palestinian farmers.

They have also placed mobile housing units there under the protection of Israeli soldiers, who prevent Palestinian landowners from accessing their property.

The incident comes as the Israeli army continues to block both main entrances to Umm Safa with an iron gate and earthen barriers since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, forcing residents to use rough and lengthy alternative routes.

Surge in attacks

Illegal settlers and Israeli forces carried out 1,215 attacks across the occupied West Bank during September alone, 490 of them by settlers, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission.

Since October 2023, the commission has documented 38,359 assaults by Israeli soldiers and settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank, including 7,154 attacks by illegal Israeli settlers that resulted in the deaths of 33 Palestinians.

Illegal settlers have established 114 new outposts, displacing 33 Palestinian Bedouin communities, including 455 families and 2,853 individuals, according to the commission.

In July 2025, the Israeli Knesset voted by a majority in favour of a declaration supporting the annexation of the West Bank to Israeli sovereignty.

However, on September 26, US President Donald Trump stated that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

According to official Palestinian figures, more than 1,050 Palestinians have been killed, around 10,300 wounded, and over 20,000 arrested, including about 1,600 children, since the onslaught against Gaza began two years ago.

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Source: TRT