Under the cover of the horrific Israeli onslaught on Gaza, far-right settlers and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are increasing their violence against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Acts of Israeli terrorism occur on a daily basis. Since the beginning of the war in 2023, over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by the IDF and far-right settler gangs. They regularly set fire to houses, cars, trees, and fields, and Palestinians suffer regular intimidation and violence from military-backed armed settlers. Far-right settlers have killed 25 Palestinians so far this year, more than in all of 2025.

In the days leading up to the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, religious settlers carried out new attacks in the Palestinian villages of Burqa and al-Daqiqa. A settler fired his gun in Akraba, injuring a woman, and another beat a woman with a club outside her home in Khirbet al-Markaz. Settlers attacked Palestinian families and Israeli left-wing activists on the outskirts of Taybeh. Later, a settler was killed by a Palestinian while ritually bathing in preparation for the holy day, provoking calls from the Israeli far right to seek the death penalty.

Resist All Attempts At Annexation

This wave of violence is not accidental, nor is it disconnected from broader developments in the Middle East. In the period leading up to the 2023 Gaza war, US imperialism and its allies in the region—primarily Israeli capitalism—identified a historic opportunity to attempt to fundamentally change regional relations and the power balance in their favor. The devastating war in Gaza, along with the severe weakening of many pro-Iranian forces, including the fall of the Assad dictatorship in Syria and the setback faced by the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, led the US-Israeli imperialist camp to the conclusion that they could remake the Middle East into a “friendly” trading zone under their control. This process of shifting the power balance toward US-Israeli imperialism has been significantly disrupted as a result of Trump’s disastrous miscalculations in Iran. However, US imperialism has not given up on their aims.

The ultra far-right wing of the Israeli government, personified by figures such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir who have messianic aspirations to fully take over the occupied territory, were more than prepared to take on this project. Others in the government have expressed willingness to annex parts or all of the territory. In this scenario, even if Palestinians were allowed to stay in the West Bank, the state would not allow them basic democratic rights, such as citizenship or voting rights, fearing this would end the Jewish character of the state. Taking this step would make the state of Israel a full-fledged apartheid state.

These aspirations, backed by the reality of an expanded occupation on the ground and the genocidal destruction of Gaza, put to death the idea of two states on a capitalist basis.

The Qusra Siege

In September, the UK, France, Canada, and nine other governments declared either a ban or restrictions on products made in Israeli settlements. This symbolic and minimal act is a reaction to the major spike in violence and the outrage it has provoked.

In July, a group of settlers launched attacks on the Palestinian village Tell. During the violent onslaught, one Palestinian, Sheikh Farouk Ramadan, was able to snatch a weapon from one of the settlers. By the end of it, Ramadan and three other Palestinians were shot dead by the IDF, as well as one settler and one soldier, killed by Ramadan. The Israeli media rushed to declare Ramadan a terrorist, but video evidence and further investigation showed that he acted in self-defense and was shot while unarmed and as he was backing away.

Following the incident, military forces moved in to besiege Tell, as well as nearby Burin, Irak Burin, and Beit Furik, allowing settler gangs to enter the villages and terrorize the local population. This was repeated in villages near Tulkarm and others. Ramadan’s house was demolished and his neighbors ordered to leave. These actions are just examples of many other systematic raids, intimidations, killings, and land grabs that have dramatically increased since October 7, 2023.

In August, groups of settlers violently took over houses in the village of Qusra, one of which while the family was still inside. This was made famous as the owner of one of the houses, an American citizen, was watching the events unfolding live from his house in Ohio via security cameras. Several Palestinian families that hold US citizenship began to raise the American flag hoping it would deter the settlers and provide some protection from the US, but to no avail. Palestinian families in nearby houses were instructed by the IDF to evacuate the area while the military was allegedly confronting the settlers. However, fearing that they would never be allowed back, the families remained in their homes, essentially under siege.

This reality explains why an overwhelming majority of West Bank Palestinians identify settler violence (96%) and IDF operations in the West Bank (91%) as the most central issues, alongside unemployment (97%) according to a new survey of Palestinians in the West Bank by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv University.

The majority in Israeli society opposes the actions of the far-right settlers. One report after another shows the military giving cover to the settler gangs. The opposite is also true—the settlers provide cover for the Israeli military and the state. Mass murderer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cynically criticized the settlers and distinguished between the “law-abiding” majority and the “criminal” minority. Similarly, a growing number of current and former Israeli military figures have come out against settler terrorism.

These criticisms, however, are not aimed at ending Israeli colonialism in the West Bank, the continued ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem, or Israel’s increasing militarism in the region. On the contrary, they aim to sanitize the occupation and legitimize it by pointing fingers at the extremists who reflect badly on Israel’s reputation on the world stage, while doing nothing to stop them. In effect, the actions of the settlers serve the Israeli colonialist project and its US backers in their aim to remove any threat to their power in the region.

Devastation Continues in Gaza

The mass destruction in Gaza continues. A building damaged by Israeli bombing recently collapsed, killing 21 residents. Conservative estimates point to over 76,000 deaths since October 7, the majority being civilians, including tens of thousands of women and children.

According to the aforementioned survey, “the most widely selected option for governing the Gaza Strip was a technocratic government, chosen by 32%; 21% selected the Palestinian Authority, 21% chose a Fatah–Hamas unity government, and only 5% chose Hamas.”

While the return of Israeli settlements and the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza are not likely in the near future, a mass struggle is needed against these threats and to urgently push back the military occupation and its attempt to install a dictatorial technocratic government. There is no alternative to building grassroots organizations and struggle committees of the working class as a basis for a non-sectarian workers’ government, rather than the reactionary Hamas or the collaborationist Palestinian Authority.

This should be linked to a mass international solidarity movement. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is organizing a new attempt to break the siege on Gaza out of European ports and is planning to arrive in October. Dockworkers’ unions in six countries have announced a day of action on October 30 to coincide with this, which should be a rallying point for the Palestine solidarity and anti-war movement around the world.

Israeli Elections & The Movie That Terrifies The State

Israeli elections are scheduled to take place at the end of October. Polls show a slight edge for the opposition parties over the Netanyahu coalition, but with neither reaching the needed majority.

Neither electoral bloc offers an alternative to the mass destruction and death inflicted by the 3-year war or the decades of occupation and siege preceding it. What is needed is mass struggle from below to challenge the power of Israeli capitalism, including a new mass working class party of struggle in Israel.

In an undemocratic move, the elections board has moved to disqualify figures running in the Palestinian and Communist parties, as well as the “Joint List” coalition. The final decision will be with the Supreme Court. In addition to the fact that polls show them at a combined vote that would give them the third largest number of seats, these parties are also likely to decide whether the opposition to Netanyahu could form the next government or not.

Panicking at the prospect of a loss, the Netanyahu camp has latched onto a new conspiracy theory that claims that a leading opposition figure knew the exact time and place of the October 7 attack ahead of time and did not notify Netanyahu. This theory was popularized by Netanyahu’s wife in a televised interview. Israeli Channel 13 News showed that 63% of Netanyahu coalition voters believe this. The popularity of this theory explains the depth of the Israeli regime’s inability to explain their failure to protect civilians on October 7.

Perfectly timed ahead of the elections, the Israeli regime has claimed that a new documentary by Israeli filmmakers Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham will potentially cause irreversible damage to the state. Titled NAZA (Israeli military term for collateral damage), the film is based on journalist investigations and interviews with Israeli soldiers and officers who witnessed systematic killing in Gaza. Without anyone having seen the movie yet, the Israeli right wing has already escalated its threats against the filmmakers. The minister of culture and sport made an official request to revoke their citizenship. That is not likely to happen, but is nonetheless a desperate attempt to win political support ahead of the elections.

A Socialist Program Needed

One of the central strategies in the anti-war movement is to lobby powerful institutions to retract their investment in Israeli companies and bonds. This is a positive demand and is understandably often seen as the only way activists outside Israel-Palestine can make a real impact. However, we should have no confidence that these institutions, themselves often the tools of oppression and war, will be on the side of oppressed people.

The movement has also demanded an end to all US military aid to Israel, which we fully support. But in response, right-wing nationalists in the US have attempted to opportunistically step in with a narrative that the Israeli state is the puppet master of the US. This absolves US imperialism of its responsibility by obscuring its real interests in the region and in fact minimizes its support for Israel to dollar amounts alone, often using antisemitic tropes. In reality, US military aid is about 15%-20% of Israel’s total defense budget—important, but still only a portion—and the Israeli state is, like other US allies, pursuing an aim of greater military self-sustenance. Israel and the US share a more fundamental interest in the region and the real impact the US has on Israel goes far beyond its military aid, and is based on a guarantee of its full might if Israel is under real threat. In return, Israel functions as a garrison for US imperialism and the protector of its policies and interests on the ground.

An end to US military aid to Israel would be an important step that could help embolden the movement internationally, but in itself would not be enough to stop the crimes of Israeli or US imperialism. Therefore, all those who oppose war, occupation, and oppression must go beyond a narrow monetary argument and other minimal demands and build a sustained mass movement in opposition to all imperialist forces. Such a movement must demand: 

• The immediate end of Israeli occupation, siege, and war. 
• The removal of all colonialist settlements and military forces from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. 
• For the right of all displaced Palestinians to return to their homeland. 
• For a socialist struggle on both sides of the national divide, backed by the mass international working-class and anti-war movement.

The struggle has to prioritize the right of the Palestinians to genuine national independence on a socialist basis, alongside fighting for a revolutionary change in Israel in the context of a regional struggle for a socialist Middle East. This means an end to all imperialist intervention, genuine peace based on solidarity as part of a voluntary socialist confederation for the wellbeing of all, and the guaranteed rights of all minorities. Only on that basis can nationalist and pro-imperialist forces, as well as the capitalist system that they serve, be overcome.