Inside the Israeli settler tactics driving a co-ordinated campaign to reshape the West Bank

Roads in the West Bank now resemble battlefronts, as tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers reach their highest levels in decades. The core issue lies in the aggressive actions of extremist settlers who aim to alter the region's landscape and thwart the chance of a two-state solution. These assaults on Palestinian neighborhoods are now part of a well-organized operation.

Many of these attacks have focused on the villages of Jalud and Qusra in the northern West Bank. Upon arriving in the area, reporters spoke to locals who shared harrowing accounts of the escalating violence. Adah Ahmed, a 51-year-old woman, recounted her pain from her limbs after settlers seized two houses they had built together for their children. She expressed a sense of helplessness and despair, envisioning a nightmare she cannot escape.

The loss of the houses, farmland, and fruit trees has deeply affected Ahmed's family, destroying their sense of security. For years, they worked diligently on the land, cultivating olives and fruit while raising their children. Now, they face a life of humiliation, praying for a way to escape their torment.

Settler outposts dot the West Bank, often hidden on hilltops overlooking Palestinian villages. They usually arrive in small groups, with one individual wielding an automatic rifle. These settlers typically bring generators and herds of livestock to make their presence felt. They engage in nighttime raids against Palestinian villages, causing damage to vehicles, cutting down trees, and stealing livestock. Guard duty changes hands, preventing villagers from returning to tend to their lands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the attacks by settlers in Jalud and Qusra as the work of "a handful of rioters." However, Ahmed and her husband, Mahmoud Tobasi, remain undeterred. They have installed security cameras to monitor the seized properties and are pursuing legal action to reclaim their homes. Ahmed is resigned to the fact that, under the current right-wing government, their homes will never be returned.