Two years after the International Court of Justice said Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was unlawful, settler violence and territorial annexation is “only getting worse”, the UN said Wednesday (July 29, 2026). Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The West Bank has seen near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers and regular raids on Palestinian villages. Overnight Sunday (July 26, 2026), Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 5,00,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are illegal under international law.