Dear Friend,

This weekend, the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, became the latest community to bear the devastating consequences of rampant settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

What began with a group of Israeli settlers entering the village - cynically described by the military as "hikers" before later acknowledging that some were armed - quickly escalated into deadly violence. Four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed. In the hours that followed, nearby Palestinian communities were subjected to intense revenge attacks, with homes set alight, property damaged, and entire families once again left fearing for their safety.

Let's be clear: hikers do not enter private Palestinian land accompanied by armed men. They do not harass residents, desecrate homes, attack communities, or poison flocks of sheep. They do not make life so unbearable that entire communities pack their belongings and leave. These are not isolated incidents or misunderstandings, but form part of a wider state instructed pattern of violence and impunity that continues to displace Palestinian communities and erode the rule of law across the occupied West Bank.

Rather than focusing on accountability, the Israeli political response has been deeply alarming. Leaders announced plans for an expanded military operation, further arrests, home demolitions, and accelerated settlement construction. Far-right ministers publicly called for Palestinian villages to be treated like devastated areas of Gaza, while dozens of Palestinians from Tal were detained following the violence.

Collective punishment, settlement expansion, and the destruction of civilian communities violate fundamental principles of international humanitarian and human rights law. Responding to violence by deepening occupation and dispossession only guarantees that the cycle will continue.