Israeli forces shoot Palestinian man as settler attacks spread

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Nov 2025 23:13

Israeli forces and settlers carried out a series of violent assaults and raids across the occupied West Bank amid a wider escalation linked to intensified settlement expansion and renewed plans to fragment Palestinian territory.

Listen

A view of the West Bank separation barrier, which separates Beit Lahham from occupied Al-Quds, has become the site of many artists’ drawings to depict the Israeli attacks on Palestinians, on November 12, 2024 in Bethlehem, West Bank. (Anadolu Agency)

A Palestinian man was wounded early Monday after Israeli forces opened fire in the town of Al-Ram, located north of occupied al-Quds. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, its medics provided first aid to a 43-year-old man who sustained a live-bullet injury to the flank near the Al-Ram section of the separation wall before transferring him to a hospital.

شاهد| إصابة شاب برصاص جيش الاحتلال عند الجدار الفاصل في بلدة الرام شمال القدس المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/nVoA1kZmu6
— بوابة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين (@refugeesps) November 17, 2025

Residents of Al-Ram say the town and the surrounding areas along the separation barrier are frequently subjected to raids by Israeli forces. These areas often witness shootings and arrests, particularly around military checkpoints, as part of measures aimed at restricting Palestinian access to areas from which Palestinians were expelled and denied return since 1948.

The incident comes amid a broader escalation across the occupied West Bank, where violence by Israeli forces and settlers has surged sharply over the past three years. According to United Nations data, 2023 marked the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since UN recordkeeping began, while the years 2024 and 2025 have continued that trajectory with sustained military operations, mass arrests, and intensified settler attacks.

This escalation is closely tied to accelerated Israeli settlement expansion and new steps toward entrenching permanent control over Area C. Analysts note that Israeli policies in the West Bank, including outpost legalization, new settlement road networks, and land seizures, are fragmenting Palestinian territory into disconnected enclaves and undermining the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

One of the most significant developments in this regard is the recent advancement of the E1 settlement plan, a project that would link Maale Adumim to al-Quds, sever the northern and southern West Bank, and effectively block Palestinian territorial contiguity. International observers warn that such measures amount to a de facto partition of the West Bank designed to cement Israeli authority and prevent the emergence of Palestinian statehood.

Settler Rampage

In the Beit Lahham governorate, settler violence intensified on Monday evening when large groups of settlers entered the village of Al-Jaba and damaged Palestinian property. The head of the village council, Diab Masha'leh, reported that numerous settlers stormed the community and targeted several homes. Witnesses noted that at least two vehicles were set ablaze during the assault, estimating that more than 100 extremist Jewish settlers took part in the attack.

The raid took place during a period in which settler violence has reached record levels. UN figures show that settler attacks have climbed dramatically since 2022, with 2023, 2024, and 2025 registering the highest annual totals ever recorded. Entire Palestinian communities, particularly in strategic areas near settlement corridors and planned expansion zones, have faced forced displacement as a result.

فيديو آخر يوثق إحراق المستوطنين لمركبات خلال الهجوم على قرية الجبعة، جنوب غرب بيت لحم. pic.twitter.com/OKuhehvLsn
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 17, 2025

Earlier at dawn, settlers also raided the Bedouin community of Al-Tibneh near Khan al-Ahmar, east of occupied al-Quds, in a separate incident. Communities in this area lie within the zone affected by the E1 project, making them especially vulnerable to repeated settler assaults and demolition threats aimed at clearing space for settlement growth.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces carried out a series of arrests and raids in other parts of the West Bank. Three Palestinians were detained in Balata Refugee Camp, east of Nablus, while additional military raids were reported in Za'atara, east of Beit Lahham, as well as in the Ramallah-area towns of Al-Madiya and Al-Mughayyer.

These raids form part of a wider pattern of intensified military activity documented across the West Bank since 2022, including large-scale incursions, home demolitions, and sweeping arrest campaigns that coincide with ongoing settlement expansion and plans to consolidate Israeli control over key geographic corridors.