On February 13, dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli settlers carried out attacks across the occupied West Bank, destroying olive trees and vandalizing property.
The Israeli military protected the settlers as they wounded about 54 Palestinians in attacks in several towns and villages.
Near Talfit, Palestinian farmers were attacked by Israeli settlers south of Nablus in the West Bank. Israeli troops attacked Palestinians with tear gas and live ammunition after some had come to the aid of the farmers.
Homes in the village were left with broken windows and cars were left with smashed windshields after the settlers attacked.
In Turmus Aya, near Ramallah, 300 olive trees were destroyed by Israeli settlers.
According to the UN, at least 1,054 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers between October 7, 2023, and February 5, 2026.
On 8 February, the Israeli security cabinet approved a package of measures that would expand Israeli civilian authority in areas A and B of the Occupied West Bank. These measures would allow Israeli authorities and individuals to acquire land in these areas, which is illegal under existing laws.
UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, warned the plan violates the right to self-determination, and renders a viable Palestinian state impossible.
"We are witnessing rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory, stripping its people of their lands and forcing them to leave," Turk said in a statement.
Palestinian Christians in the West Bank
Before 1948, Palestinian Christians made up 12.5% of the population of historic Palestine.
In 1948, 90,000 Palestinian Christians were expelled and nearly 30 churches were shut.
Today, 1.2% remain in historic Palestine, and only 1% in the 1967 Occupied Palestinian territories.
The decline is due to Israel's ethnic-cleansing, forcible displacement, land confiscation, and systematic oppression.
Churches attacked in West Bank
In 2025, the 5th-century St. George Church and its grounds in Taybeh were attacked and burned by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
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