SAFA - Attacks by Israeli settlers and Israeli Occupation forces (IOF) have killed 87 Palestinians since the beginning of 2019, including 25 killed since the start of 2026, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Friday.

The commission revealed that 61 Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks since October 7, 2023, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total deaths recorded during the entire period.

The annual figures show a sharp escalation in settler-related killings. 

Two Palestinians were killed in 2019, followed by one in 2020, five in 2021, and six in 2022. The number rose sharply to 23 in 2023, followed by 11 deaths in 2024 and 14 in 2025.

With 25 Palestinians killed in less than eight months of 2026, the current year has already recorded the highest annual death toll in the commission’s data, representing an increase of nearly 79 percent compared with the entire 2025 total.

The monthly distribution also points to concentrated waves of violence rather than isolated incidents. Ten Palestinians were killed in October 2023, while nine were killed in March 2026 and seven in July 2026.

The commission said the pattern indicates that settler violence has increasingly taken the form of large-scale attacks capable of causing multiple casualties in a single community or incident.

Geographic Concentration

Geographically, Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate recorded the highest number of deaths, with 36 Palestinians killed, representing around 41 percent of the total.

 Nablus followed with 26 deaths, accounting for nearly 30 percent.

Together, the two governorates accounted for 62 deaths, or about 71 percent of all recorded cases. 

Hebron recorded nine deaths, while Jerusalem and Salfit each recorded five.

 Bethlehem recorded three cases, Qalqilya two, and one case was recorded within the 1948 territories.

The commission linked the concentration of killings to areas experiencing rapid expansion of Israeli settlement outposts and repeated settlers’ attacks on Palestinian villages, roads, and agricultural lands.

It said settler crimes serve a broader role in the settlement project by intimidating Palestinian residents, restricting their access to their land, and creating conditions conducive to land seizure and the establishment of new realities on the ground.

The data also showed a significant impact on younger Palestinians. 

Twelve of the victims killed were children under the age of 18, representing nearly 14 percent of the total. Another 41 victims were between 18 and 29 years old.

Combined, 53 of the 87 victims were under the age of 30, accounting for approximately 61 percent of all those killed.

 The list also included 15 victims aged 30–39, nine aged 40–49, seven aged 50–59, and three aged 60 or older.

The victims ranged in age from 14 to 72, with a median age of 26 and an average age of approximately 30.

The commission said that since the formation of Israel’s far-right government on December 29, 2022, extremist elements within the settlement movement have moved from the margins of political discourse into the center of decision-making.

It stated that Israeli occupation is creating an increasingly permissive political, legal, and security environment for settlers through the expansion and legalization of settlement outposts, the provision of protection and resources, and easier access to weapons.

At the same time, it said investigations and prosecutions have failed to create meaningful deterrence.

The commission called on the international community to move beyond condemnation toward accountability by imposing sanctions on perpetrators of settler attacks and the official bodies that enable them, ending financial and commercial support for settlements, providing effective protection to threatened Palestinian communities, and ensuring that such crimes are pursued before international judicial bodies.