English translation of the Haaretz report’s headline: “Encouraged by the Government and Under the Army’s Protection, Settlers Enter Area B and Establish a Foothold”
A report published by journalist Metan Golan in Haaretz on August 27, 2026, describes a broad and organized pattern of settlers entering areas under the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction. According to the report, at least 30 outposts have been established in Areas A and B over the past two and a half years. Most are located in Area B, while at least one has been established in Area A.
According to the report, the outposts were established at strategic locations, including hilltops, alongside roads, near new Palestinian construction projects, and in places where their presence can restrict the movement of Palestinian residents, prevent access to their land, or obstruct the expansion of their villages. Some of the outposts were established deep inside Area B, rather than merely along its boundary with Area C.
One of the examples presented in the report is the “Tel Talpiot” outpost, established in the Ras al-Ain area near Qusra, approximately two kilometers inside Area B. Residents describe attacks, threats, damage to property, and a situation in which settlers continue to move around their homes despite the presence of security forces in the area.
The report also describes outposts and other points of settler presence near Jalud, Turmus Ayya, Abu Falah, al-Mughayyir, Atara, Ramon, and Taybeh. According to the report, these outposts are not used solely for residential purposes. They also create effective control over roads, agricultural land, and the areas surrounding Palestinian villages.
Alongside the newspaper report, a post was recently circulated in a WhatsApp group associated with settlers. It was presented as a “year-end summary of the struggle against the Arab enemy in the Holy Land during the Hebrew year 5786.” The post contains a long list of Palestinian villages, with a number beside each village purporting to represent the attacks carried out there during the year.
Qusra is expressly named in the post, with the number 15 beside it. The list also refers to Masafer Yatta with 43 attacks, Mukhmas with 25, Beita with 21, al-Mughayyir with 20, Surif and Sa’ir with 17 each, Abu Falah with 15, Jaba with 14, Burqa in the Ramallah district with 12, Turmus Ayya with 11, and Jalud, Salfit, Kafr Qaddum, and Burin with 10 attacks each.
The publishers of the summary further claimed that 436 vehicles, 201 buildings, and 15 mosques had been set on fire during the year, and that 409 Palestinians had been injured. The post also claimed that tens of thousands of windows had been smashed, thousands of olive trees cut down, hundreds of tires punctured, and tens of thousands of dunams of fields and orchards set ablaze.
The very publication of such a “year-end summary,” describing attacks, arson, and harm to people and property in boastful language, reflects a profound sense of impunity and the absence of effective deterrence.
Taken together, the two sources present a particularly alarming picture. On the one hand, outposts are being systematically established inside areas under the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction. On the other, a publication boasts of widespread violence against Palestinian villages and residents. These can no longer be treated as isolated incidents or random acts by individuals. They form part of a broader phenomenon that affects residents’ security, property, freedom of movement, and ability to reach their land.
The expansion of outposts and violence from Area C into Areas A and B raises serious questions regarding law enforcement policy, the responsibility of the military and police, and the gap between official statements referring to a “small extremist minority” and the continuing reality on the ground. When outposts are repeatedly established, roads are blocked, residents are driven from their homes, and publishers boast of hundreds of attacks, general condemnations are not enough. Effective law enforcement is required to stop the attacks, remove unlawful points of settler presence, and guarantee Palestinian residents protection and safe access to their homes and land.
