Sinjil, Palestinian Territories. On a cool night in June, about 15 Palestinians from the West Bank town of Sinjil gathered on a hilltop to watch the valleys below for signs of movement they feared could signal an impending Israeli settler attack. Residents say such patrols are part of a grassroots volunteer effort formed as settler violence rises and as they see little effective protection from Israeli authorities.
Volunteer patrols in Sinjil
The group in Sinjil is part of a broader network of volunteer initiatives across the West Bank that Palestinians say have stepped in to defend communities from settler attacks.
“We have been left on our own. You are facing settlers supported by their government,” said Fadi Alwan, one of the volunteers.
“We have nobody. So we are forced to stay here and protect this town,” he said.
Settlement expansion and tensions
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has approved hundreds of new settlements and settler outposts across the West Bank. Palestinians say the smaller outposts often serve as staging grounds for violence that has displaced thousands of Palestinians.
The Israeli government has said it plans to use the strategic placement of settlements to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state with the West Bank at its center, an objective Palestinians see as central to the two-state solution long backed by world powers.
Disputed responses from authorities
Most of the international community considers all Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes that position.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule while the Israeli military operates freely.
Palestinians say that when they call Israeli police or the military, the response is delayed or forces arrive in support of settlers carrying out attacks. The military denies this.
“The army protects them and doesn’t stop them. We call the army. We call the police. It’s useless,” Alwan said.
Asked about Sinjil and what residents describe as an escalating campaign of attacks, Israel’s military said troops are deployed to disperse confrontations, while responsibility for the actions of Israeli civilians in the West Bank lies with the Israeli police.
