Israel: Security Warning Over Settler Violence in West Bank as Gaza Fighting Continues

A rare public rift emerged within Israeli security circles this week, as senior officials issued increasingly stark warnings about settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

According to Israeli media reports, Major General Avi Bluth, commander of Israeli forces in the West Bank, warned in a closed forum that escalating settler attacks could spark a Palestinian uprising, calling the settlers’ actions “a disgrace to Jews.”

Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo visited Palestinian villages that had suffered settler attacks and said what he saw reminded him—as the son of Holocaust survivors—of anti-Jewish violence in the last century. “What I see today makes me ashamed to be a Jew,” he told Israel’s Channel 13.

Yet even as these warnings were issued, settler attacks expanded, new illegal outposts were established, and the Israeli navy intercepted a humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters.

Illustrating the gap between the warnings and ground reality, last weekend the top leaders of the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service attended the 50th birthday celebration of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to Haaretz. Among the guests were far-right activists previously convicted of offenses related to violence against Palestinians.

Ben-Gvir’s wife presented him with a cake topped with a gold-plated noose—a symbol adopted by his party to support a death penalty bill for Palestinian prisoners.

Killings, Roadblocks, Land Seizures Across the West Bank

Violence in the occupied West Bank continued unabated this week. According to reports from Palestinian activist networks, on April 29 Israeli forces shot dead 16-year-old Ibrahim Abd al-Khayat during a raid in Hebron, after soldiers used live fire and tear gas. On May 3, Nayef Samaro was killed by Israeli fire during a military raid in Nablus.

In Beita, south of Nablus, Jewish settlers established a new illegal outpost in the Umm al-Jarb area—the fifth outpost on the village’s land. In Jaloud, also near Nablus, an outpost linked to repeated attacks on neighboring villages was evacuated and re-established the same day, with settlers occupying a Palestinian-owned home. Settlers also blocked roads in Yatta, south of the West Bank, and Deir Jarir, near Ramallah.

Over the weekend, settlers attacked Palestinians in Jalud, Hebron, and Ein ad-Duyuk near Jericho—the latter in Area A, where Israeli citizens are banned by Israeli law—wounding at least six people, including a 71-year-old woman, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israeli forces also carried out their own actions, bulldozing Palestinian agricultural roads in Sinjil, isolating farmland while allowing settlers free movement near a neighboring outpost. Palestinian activist networks also shared an order signed by Major General Bluth, declaring the seizure of approximately 11 dunams (1.1 hectares) near Khirbet Main in the South Hebron Hills for military purposes.

On May 4, Israeli forces demolished a two-story home in the village of Deirat, east of Yatta, housing four families totaling 25 people, according to local Palestinian activists.

On Friday, a drunk Israeli reservist from a nearby illegal settler outpost opened fire on Palestinian homes in the Arroub refugee camp near Hebron using army-issued weapons, according to Haaretz. The military called the incident “serious” but provided no details on actions taken.

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed to Israeli media this week that he withheld April customs revenue from the Palestinian Authority—about 740 million shekels ($249 million)—continuing a year-long policy that has left the governing body financially crippled and unable to pay full salaries to staff. Major General Bluth advised the Israeli cabinet to release the funds to help reduce tensions in the West Bank, but Smotrich reportedly refused.

In occupied East Jerusalem, videos showed Israeli soldiers chasing and dragging a disabled Palestinian child during a raid on the Shu'fat camp. In the same city, after a wave of public outrage, Israeli authorities arrested a Jewish man filmed attacking a Christian nun.

Humanitarian Aid Flotilla Intercepted

In international waters near Greece, the Israeli navy intercepted vessels from the Global Samoud Flotilla, a convoy of 58 boats carrying international activists attempting to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. The navy detained approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats.

Flotilla organizers said Israeli forces smashed engines and destroyed navigational equipment, leaving the boats stranded in the path of an approaching storm. Israel said the operation was conducted “peacefully and without casualties” and in accordance with international law.

Gaza: Stalled Talks, Airstrikes, and Hospital Shortages Continue

In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes continued throughout the week. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, a 9-year-old child was killed in an airstrike east of Khan Younis on April 28, while medical worker Ibrahim Saqr died in an airstrike near Gaza City on April 29.

On April 30, three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike near the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City, according to local reports. On May 4, an Israeli drone strike killed at least one person at the Bureij refugee camp. As of that date, 828 Palestinians in Gaza had been killed and more than 2,342 wounded since the October “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. In total, more than 72,600 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

Despite a slight increase in aid entering Gaza since the reopening of the Zikim crossing, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported deteriorating humanitarian conditions. According to OCHA’s latest humanitarian situation report dated May 1, operational capacity in Gaza continues to decline as vehicles and generators break down beyond repair, crippling power supply, basic services, and humanitarian access.

The Gaza Health Ministry warned this week that 86% of laboratory and blood bank supplies have dropped to zero, threatening surgical operations, emergency interventions, and intensive care.

Israel’s security cabinet met this week to discuss resuming the genocidal war, amid growing pressure from the military, after Hamas refused to comply with Israel’s demand for complete disarmament. Hamas submitted a counterproposal, stressing that its weapons should only be addressed within a framework leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas also demanded that Israel stop expanding its control in Gaza and increase the flow of aid.

Reuters reported this week that new maps quietly issued by Israel in mid-March expanded the restricted zone inside Gaza to nearly two-thirds of the territory, raising fears among displaced Palestinians that they could be considered targets and further fueling doubts about whether any withdrawal framework remains viable.