The killing of three Palestinians in Kafr Malik by armed settlers is not an isolated act of violence but a calculated move in a broader campaign of dispossession. Behind the attacks lies a strategic push by extremist religious Zionist factions seeking to erase Palestinian presence from the West Bank.

According to Palestinian analyst Imad Abu Awad, these settler-led crimes are unfolding with political backing and alarming speed. What may appear as spontaneous assaults are, in fact, part of a state-enabled plan to drive Palestinians out of Area C, where Israel holds full control, and confine them to overcrowded enclaves, stripping them of any territorial continuity or autonomy.

This strategy, Abu Awad notes, aligns with a vision long cherished by Israel’s religious far-right: the establishment of a so-called “State of Judah” on Palestinian land. With growing support from powerful ministers and settlers emboldened by impunity, the movement seeks not coexistence but dominance, where the Palestinian presence is reduced to the barest minimum or erased entirely.

The threats, however, are not confined to the West Bank. Discriminatory policies are tightening within the 1948 borders as well, where Palestinians face home demolitions, restricted services, and cultural suppression. Abu Awad warns that even revoking legal residency from certain Palestinian communities is no longer unthinkable in this accelerating campaign of demographic engineering.

In the absence of meaningful international pressure, Palestinians face a stark reality: a government that feeds settler violence, a judiciary that turns a blind eye, and a world that continues to look away.