MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It's been a week of violence in the occupied West Bank. This was set off on Friday when Israel's military said Israeli settlers entered a Palestinian village in an area that is supposed to be off limits to Israeli citizens. In the confrontation that followed, two Israelis and four Palestinians were killed. There's been a wave of retaliation from settlers against Palestinian communities. NPR's Emily Feng has been reporting in the West Bank this week, and she's with us now. Good morning, Emily.
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: Could you just describe the atmosphere there?
FENG: Yeah. I have been to the West Bank many times after the Hamas attack in Israel from another Palestinian territory, Gaza. But on this trip to the West Bank, I saw even higher levels of desperation than before. Just listen to this man, Ahmed Dweikat (ph). He's from Beita, which is a village south of the area the Israeli army has sealed off after that clash.
AHMED DWEIKAT: (Speaking Arabic).
FENG: He says, "We're out of breath. We have no breath," meaning they're totally exhausted because this village is surrounded by four Israeli settlements which have been forcibly taken control of houses and farmlands on the edge of his village, hemming the Palestinians in. And now communities like his are saying settlers feel even more emboldened to carry out violence.
MARTIN: Did they give you examples of that?
FENG: There have been nightly attacks and also thefts during the day from Israeli settlers, including in this village, not far away, called Qusra, where on Sunday, arsonists burnt down the village mosque at night. Mohammad Alhajahmed (ph) was one of the residents who told me he saw the flames first.
MOHAMMAD ALHAJAHMED: (Speaking Arabic).
FENG: So he's describing here the Hebrew graffiti that was left on the mosque, one vowing revenge and another, quote, saying, "the land of Israel is brought about by blood." The Israeli military says they're investigating, that they condemn acts like this. Alhajahmed and his neighbors believe the arsonist came from a nearby settlement.
MARTIN: Emily, would you just take a minute to explain what settlements are for people who don't know.
FENG: Yes. So these were set up by Jewish Israelis. Their construction is considered illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this. They're built on land that are supposed to be part of a future state of Palestine one day, and they're built with the intent of, instead, bringing that land under Israeli control. Israel's military itself says severe violence caused by these settlers is up 50% from 2024 to 2025. The United Nations says 76 Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed in settler attacks just this year. So now almost every rural Palestinian community in the West Bank has to mount an overnight watch in case they're attacked.
I joined one of these night watches this week with Palestinian shepherd Ibrahim Abu al-Kebash (ph). And sitting under the moon with him, he described how this past March, settlers from an outpost nearby stole more than 400 sheep - his family's entire fortune - then beat him and his family and zip tied his son's genitals, and all of this was caught on camera.
IBRAHIM ABU AL-KEBASH: (Speaking Arabic).
FENG: But after this, all he thinks about is his children's future and these lost sheep. And when he thinks about that, he says he passes out.
Every Palestinian I spoke to says they're looking towards the October general elections in Israel. They're hoping for a change in government, maybe stronger policing against settler violence. These are elections they do not vote in. They cannot vote in them, but the outcome will shape their lives and their future.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Emily Feng. Emily, thank you.
FENG: Thanks, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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