UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned Israeli settler attacks as “pogroms” as Israeli forces launched sweeping raids across the occupied West Bank.
Key Developments
- Francesca Albanese described attacks on Palestinians across the West Bank as “pogroms” and called for an arms embargo on Israel.
- Israeli forces detained at least 70 Palestinians during large-scale raids following Friday’s violence.
- Settler attacks continued alongside military operations, leaving additional Palestinians injured.
- International organizations, including MSF and the EU, voiced alarm over the escalating violence.
Israeli occupation forces launched widespread raids across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, detaining at least 70 Palestinians and expanding military operations a day after Israeli settlers, backed by occupation forces, attacked Palestinian communities near Nablus, killing four Palestinians.
The escalation came as UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese condemned the attacks as “pogroms,” accusing Israeli settlers and the occupation army of acting together against Palestinian civilians.
‘Pogroms against Defenseless Civilians’
Responding to Friday’s attacks, Albanese wrote that Palestinians across the occupied West Bank were facing “pogroms against defenseless civilians.”
She said that Israeli settlers and the occupation army were “joining forces” in the attacks, rejecting attempts to portray the violence as the responsibility of only a handful of individuals.
Albanese called for an immediate international arms embargo and the suspension of trade with Israel, saying such measures are required under international law.
Her remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered what they described as a “wide-scale military operation” across Palestinian towns and villages following an attack near the illegal Havat Gilad settlement that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.
POGROMS
against defenseless civilians
all over the West Bank (while Gaza is under fire).Israeli civilians and army joining forces.
It is not just Nethanyahu and few "rotten apples".
THIS IS ISRAEL
ARMS EMBARGO NOW – STOP TRADE NOW
This is what intl law requires. pic.twitter.com/6IHR4yPolS
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) July 25, 2026
At Least 70 Palestinians Detained
Israeli forces carried out extensive raids across multiple West Bank governorates early Saturday, detaining at least 70 Palestinians.
The largest operation took place in the town of Tell, southwest of Nablus, where Israeli occupation troops detained more than 40 Palestinians after surrounding the town, conducting widespread house raids, and converting a residential building into a field interrogation center.
Additional raids were reported across Jenin, Tubas, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Jericho, and several surrounding towns and refugee camps, as Israeli forces expanded military deployments throughout the occupied territory.
In Jenin, troops raided numerous neighborhoods and surrounding towns while searching homes and detaining several Palestinians amid heavy military movements.
Abu Obeida Issues Statement: Why Is the West Bank Suddenly Exploding?
Settler Violence Continues
Violence by Israeli settlers also continued on Saturday.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, eight Palestinians were injured during a settler attack on the village of Farata, east of Qalqilya. Six of the injured were shot with live ammunition.
The attack followed Friday’s assault on Tell, where Israeli settlers and occupation forces killed four Palestinians while setting fire to homes and other property in several communities across the Nablus governorate.
At least four Palestinians were killed as Israeli forces intensified operations in the occupied West Bank following settler raids, with authorities also announcing plans to expand illegal settlements pic.twitter.com/XyTjeTB3Ke
— TRT World (@trtworld) July 24, 2026
International Alarm
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was “deeply alarmed” by the violence, particularly reports that Israeli forces stormed Nablus Specialized Hospital during Friday’s operations.
The organization said the latest events were not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of Israeli military raids, state-backed settler violence, disruption of essential services, and increasing pressure on Palestinian civilians and healthcare facilities.
It stressed that hospitals, medical staff, ambulances, and patients must be protected under international law.
The European Union also expressed “deep concern” over the deteriorating situation, urging ‘all parties’ to avoid inflammatory rhetoric, contribute to de-escalation, and break what it described as the “vicious cycle of violence.”
ALARM!!
Violent attacks reported in all West Bank particularly northern area and Nablus!
Packs of settlers – terrorists in full force backed by Israeli soldiers -are calling for "blood", literally.
STATES MUST DEPLOY A PROTECTIVE PRESENCE pic.twitter.com/OtEEsXDGZu
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) July 24, 2026
Escalating West Bank Offensive
Saturday’s raids came as Israeli occupation authorities tightened military restrictions across the occupied West Bank following Friday’s events.
According to Palestinian sources, additional troops were deployed across key areas, movement restrictions were intensified at military checkpoints, and preparations were announced for a broader military operation alongside plans to advance new illegal settlement outposts.
(Anadolu, WAFA, QNN, Al Mayadeen, PC, X)
Francesca Albanese is right when she uses the word Pogrom to describe israeli agressions on towns and communities in Palestine. This word originated fron russian that means agressions, killings, deporting of minority groups of population by a dominant state.