September 4, 2026
The Cradle posted the following article on Aug. 29, 2026.
The Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission reveals that Israeli settlers and occupation forces were responsible for nearly 89% of all property fires targeting Palestinian homes, buildings and vehicles in the occupied West Bank since January 2023.
Credit: Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission logo
According to the commission’s comprehensive report, 900 arson and fire incidents were documented between the start of 2023 and July 10, [2026], with Israeli settlers directly accountable for 799 of the cases, or 88.8 percent, while the Israeli military caused the remaining 101 incidents.
The data underscores an escalating campaign of violence, showing a steady annual rise in recorded fires from 217 incidents in 2023 to 264 in 2024 and peaking at 307 cases in 2025, alongside another 112 fires documented up to mid-2026.
Geographically, the Nablus and Ramallah governorates bore the brunt of the assaults, accounting for 281 and 271 blazes respectively, which combined represent over 61 percent of all documented cases across the territory.
The commission connected the spike in arson directly to an official “government environment of enablement” that guarantees impunity for Israeli settler violence, utilizing illegal outposts as staging grounds for systemic displacement.
The report noted that the broader campaign of terror has forced the complete or partial depopulation of 121 Palestinian communities — including 46 completely emptied hamlets — displacing upwards of 6,200 Palestinians, more than half of whom are children.
