“At a time of war, the Netanyahu government fails its citizens and perpetuates destruction of Palestinian life in the West Bank” 

New Israel Fund Australia statement in response to violent settler attacks

24/03/2026 – Melbourne

It has been widely reported that one third of Israel’s citizens do not have access to adequate shelter from the Iran missiles. Most of these people are Palestinians located in remote towns, but disabled and aged people across the country have also been neglected.

Equally alarming is the escalation of unchecked settler violence in the West Bank, conducted under the fog of war. These are not random acts of violence, but a series of systematic pogroms designed to remove Palestinian communities and their way of life. Already this year, nine villages and herding communities have been displaced by settler violence and access restrictions.

The most recent wave of settler violence took place over the weekend. Across 14 different Palestinian communities, homes were set on fire, vehicles burned, and at least a dozen Palestinians injured. These attacks were carried out on the pretext of revenge for the death of a Jewish settler after a car crash. This pattern of inventing a pretext for extremist violence is well documented. The settlers’ lack of restraint and the IDF’s failure to protect innocent communities occur in the context of political rhetoric that emboldens the extremist settlers and grants them impunity.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently declared that the government intends to “erase the lines and definitions - and settle every part of our land [sic]...beating out enemies on all fronts.”

The ongoing failure of Israeli authorities to prevent this violence and to hold perpetrators to account is a profound breach of Israel’s legal and moral obligations.

“These horrific acts of unchecked violence and extremist rhetoric must be condemned by all who support a future of peace and equality,” said Kate Rosenberg, Executive Director of the New Israel Fund Australia. “When civilians can be attacked and their homes burned, without consequence, it is a threat not only to Palestinians, but also to the democratic foundations of Israel.”

While supremacist officials and their supporters push the country down a dangerous path, the majority of Israelis oppose settler violence.

In times of increasing threat against them, New Israel Fund grantees, including Yesh Din, Adalah and Rabbis for Human Rights, are working to dispense aid to these communities, provide legal support, document abuses, and demand accountability.

Israel’s democratic institutions remain under attack by the most extreme right wing government in Israel’s history. Civil society organisations are among the last remaining bastions defending Israeli democracy and equality. We must support them in their fight.