51吃瓜

On March 15, in an incident that garnered international attention, two Palestinian children, aged five and seven, and their parents were in the head and face by Israeli forces in the West Bank while driving home to their village of Tamoun from a 鈥渢o buy Eid necessities鈥� in the city of Nablus in the West Bank. One of the surviving children that he overheard Israeli forces involved in the killing say, 鈥淲e killed dogs.鈥� According to media reports, while an investigation was 鈥溾��, the authorities decided not to the officers because their account of events 鈥� that they acted because they felt under threat 鈥� was deemed credible. Commenting on the shooting, Yitzhak Kroizer, a lawmaker from the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, Knesset members that there are 鈥渘o innocent civilians or innocent children鈥� in Jenin.

Earlier in March, two Palestinians, Fare鈥� Jawdat Abu Nurah (57) and Thaer Faruq Hamayel (30), were by Israeli settlers and soldiers across the West Bank in the span of a . A third victim, Muhammad Jawdat Abu Nurah (55), died after suffering cardiac arrest. A survivor of a recent settler attack in Khirbet Humsa the media that he was subjected to sexual violence and acts of brutality. Other members of his family and foreign activists were also physically assaulted.

There have also been repeated of settler violence in the village of Tayasir in the north of the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been setting up . At the end of March, a CNN team on the ground was by the Israeli military, and a photojournalist was attacked.听

These events are the latest in a long trajectory of violence. Data collected by the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) that between October 7, 2023, and June 5, 2026, more than 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and over 12,000 others were injured.听

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed 鈥溾�� over a further sharp escalation in violence since the outbreak of hostilities between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28. In Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been since the entry into force of the tenuous ceasefire on October 10, 2025, bringing the official since October 7, 2023, to just under 73,000.

A deeply entrenched culture of impunity聽

Accountability for acts of violence has long remained elusive for Palestinians. According to the Israeli human rights organization , out of more than 700 complaints filed against Israeli soldiers between 2000 and 2015, only around 3% resulted in criminal charges. In many cases, no investigation was opened at all. For incidents that took place between 2017 and 2021, this figure is less than 1%, according to rights group Yesh Din.听

In fact, the first response of Israeli authorities to high-profile allegations of misconduct is often denial and evasion of responsibility. In an , the Israeli military first surmised that a 鈥溾�� may have Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while reporting from Jenin refugee camp in May 2022, notwithstanding unequivocal that she was shot by Israeli forces.听

According to , a video depicting a Palestinian gunman shared by the Israeli military in the immediate aftermath of Shireen鈥檚 killing was at a different location. When several probes by and similarly concluded that an Israeli soldier was likely responsible, including that Abu Akleh may have been , the military eventually , but maintained that her death was 鈥�.鈥� Until , 鈥淸n]o one was ever held to account for Shireen鈥檚 killing.鈥� Days after her death, Israeli police crowds at her funeral procession in Jerusalem, including mourners carrying her coffin.听

Even undeniable evidence of the most serious crimes yields lenient punishment . In 2016, in a well-known incident, Israeli soldier Elor Azaria was caught on shooting and killing a Palestinian man, Abdul Fattah al-Sharif, who had stabbed an Israeli soldier in Hebron. The graphic clearly shows al-Sharif lying on the ground, injured and motionless, posing no threat.

Having avoided murder charges, Azaria initially received an 18-month sentence for manslaughter, which was subsequently to 14 months. He was from prison after serving only nine months to an enthusiastic reception by his family and supporters, who threw him a celebration. Azaria also became a cause 肠茅濒猫产谤别 for right-wing politicians, who tirelessly for his release. He has never publicly guilt or for his actions, and in 2024 was by the Biden administration.听

Since the onset of the hostilities in Gaza following the brutal October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas-led armed groups, a considerable number of Israeli soldiers have similarly been recorded, or filmed themselves, committing acts of vandalism, and of Palestinian detainees.

Specific incidents that are extensively documented include the of 15 Palestinian paramedics and emergency workers in the Tal al-Sultan area of in March 2025 (in a harrowing , taken by one of the paramedics, heavy and sustained gunfire can be heard while the victim recites the Shahada); the on a staircase at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in August 2025, in which several journalists and first responders were (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a 鈥溾�樷�欌��); the January 2024 killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza City, whose heart-wrenching final with rescue workers was recorded and turned into a ; and the shooting in November 2025 of two Palestinian men in Jenin who had surrendered to Israeli forces in an incident reminiscent of al-Sharif鈥檚 killing, which was also captured on .听

Yet, such evidence has not propelled the Israeli authorities to action. Human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, who serves as a legal advisor for Yesh Din, in March this year that 鈥淸m]ore than 1,500 complaints related to soldiers鈥� conduct [in Gaza] since October 2023 have so far yielded only two indictments.鈥� In August 2025, UK-based Action on Armed Violence that out of 52 cases (connected to both Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem) 鈥渋n which the Israeli military either acknowledged investigations or where serious allegations of civilian harm were reported,鈥� 88% were 鈥渟talled or closed without findings.鈥� The Israeli military has tightened media regulations in a bid to shield soldiers from prosecution abroad.听

As in the case of Azaria, the sparse criminal probes that have been launched recently involve prolonged legal battles, reluctant authorities and often a measure of public support for the defendants. For example, in July 2025, Masafer Yatta resident and activist was shot and killed in his native village of Umm al-Khair. Yinon Levi, an settler and far-right agitator, was arrested over his death and placed under house arrest, but soon to go free. Only when a video depicting the killing 鈥� recorded by al-Hathaleen himself 鈥� a new investigation was , and earlier this year Levi was 鈥� with reckless homicide.鈥澛�

Far-right Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech attended Levi鈥檚 court hearing; whether he will be convicted, and if so, what sentence he will receive, remains to be seen. The Israeli authorities initially al-Hathaleen鈥檚 body, and the family had to fight for permission to him in Umm al-Khair. (Har-Melech previously Israeli settler Amiram Ben-Uliel, who in 2015 the home of the Dawabsheh family in the village of Duma near Nablus, killing an 18-month-old infant and his parents, as a 鈥渉oly鈥� and 鈥渞ighteous鈥� man.)

Furthermore, when the military investigated an instance of torture and sexual violence reportedly inflicted upon a Palestinian detainee at the camp, a group of far-right demonstrators, including high-ranking politicians, the premises in protest. Hanoch Milwidsky, a member of the Knesset for the Likud, in a public debate that in case someone belongs to Hamas鈥� Nukhba force, 鈥渆verything is legitimate to do.鈥� A video depicting the abuse was leaked to the public (as it later , at the hands of Israel鈥檚 former Military Advocate-General, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi).

When some of the accused reserve soldiers appeared in court 鈥� wearing caps, sunglasses and masks to conceal their identity 鈥� they were like heroes with applause, hugs and chants of support (including 鈥淲e are all Unit 100鈥�). On March 12, 2026, the criminal charges were dropped, in light of 鈥渆xceptional circumstances.鈥� The Office of Prime Minister Netanyahu released a welcoming the decision, referring to the criminal investigation as a 鈥渂lood libel.鈥澛�

A similar reaction was forthcoming in response to an published in the New York Times by veteran journalist Nicholas Kristof on May 11, which contains harrowing testimonies by Palestinians of rape and other forms of sexual violence they suffered at the hands of 鈥渟oldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards.鈥� On May 14, Netanyahu鈥檚 office on social media that his government would seek defamation proceedings against the outlet.

Draconian punishment for Palestinians聽

This climate of near-total impunity for Israeli soldiers and settlers, and even apparent support for violent crimes by a segment of society, stands in sharp contrast to Israel鈥檚 approach to enforcement of the law vis-脿-vis Palestinians. Israeli in the West Bank have a conviction rate of up to 99%. They have been inter alia on the grounds that criminal proceedings do not comply with fair trial guarantees; defendants are held in remand detention and pressured to enter into plea bargains; reports of torture and ill-treatment are discounted; and sentences that are harsher than those handed down by civilian courts for similar crimes committed by Jewish Israelis.听

Even children are regularly and brought before special (according to , as of December 2025, 351 Palestinian children were being detained by the Israel Prison Service). Palestinians can also be held in , without having been charged or being tried, for extended periods of time (a measure that is currently not to Jewish Israelis per a of Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz).听聽

According to , as of June 2, 2026, 9,361 Palestinians are being detained by the Israel Prison Service, of which more than 3,300 are administrative detainees, and more than 1,300 are Palestinians from Gaza held under the so-called 鈥�.鈥� This excludes who may still be detained by the Israeli military, including in camps like Sde Teiman (following international scrutiny and a court order, detainees were moved to other locations where concerns about ill-treatment also abound). An investigation that, according to Israeli military intelligence, three-fourths of detained Palestinians from Gaza are civilians.听

It is well-documented that since October 7, 2023, the already precarious conditions for Palestinians in Israeli detention have deteriorated further amidst reports of systematic and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, as well as of family visits, access to legal representation and by the International Committee of the Red Cross (whether a recent by Israel鈥檚 Supreme Court will change the latter remains to be seen). Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has the deaths of at least 94 Palestinians detained by Israel between October 2023 and August 2025.

Last year, reports also emerged of an in Ramla where detainees are kept without access to natural light. Israel鈥檚 ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has personally on imposing inhumane detention conditions, which include endless renditions of the Israeli for purposes of sleep deprivation.

In September 2025, Israel鈥檚 Supreme Court 鈥淸i]n a highly rare鈥� instance of judicial intervention that detainees were not being given sufficient food; several months later, little has changed. Earlier this year, a by an Israeli court found that 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who died in detention in March 2025, suffered from starvation. The investigation was nonetheless closed on the grounds that the cause of death could allegedly not be definitively established.听聽

There is also a long history of the Israeli authorities inflicting apparent collective punishment upon Palestinian communities, such as , as well as . Since October 7, 2023, including during the hostilities between Israel and Iran, these restrictions have been even further, confining residents to ever-smaller areas.听

This draconian approach to (alleged) wrongdoing by Palestinians is set to take an even more extreme turn: On March 30, 2026, the Knesset providing that anyone 鈥渨ho intentionally causes the death of a person鈥� by means of 鈥渁n act of terrorism鈥� (as defined in Israel鈥檚 鈥溾�� Counter-Terrorism Law of 2016) be punished by death under the military law that Israel applies to Palestinians in the West Bank; the alternative of life imprisonment is available in case of 鈥渟pecial circumstances.鈥澛�

At the same time, the makes it possible for judges to impose a sentence of 鈥渄eath or life imprisonment鈥� on anyone 鈥渨ho intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of negating the existence of the State of Israel鈥� pursuant to Israeli domestic law. , , and have of the broad wording and discriminatory nature of these legislative amendments, which are set to be enforced almost exclusively against Palestinians.

Other concerns include a lack of fair trial standards as well as objections to the death penalty on principled grounds, amongst others. A number of and the have also condemned the adoption of the law.听

When the Knesset first voted on a different version of the bill in , Ben-Gvir reportedly handed out to those in attendance. He has been seen wearing a alongside other lawmakers from his extreme right-wing Otzma Yehudit party; Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, who was among those who introduced the bill, shared a and a on her X account that depict her holding a syringe for lethal injection and a noose 鈥� apparently a costume for the Purim holiday.听

Following an , Son Har-Melech the results of the final Knesset vote on 30 March (). Ben-Gvir and other proponents of the death penalty 鈥� including Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu, Zvika Fogel and Yitzhak Kroizer 鈥� enthusiastically; Ben-Gvir triumphantly a bottle of what appears to be sparkling wine into the air, which was later in . In May, Ben-Gvir received a cake depicting a noose for his .听聽

The road ahead

Escalating violence by soldiers and settlers across the occupied Palestinian territory is largely met with silence by the Israeli authorities, and at times actively endorsed by the far right and its supporters; the prospect of justice recedes ever further into the distance.

Remarkably, given the prevailing lawlessness, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 鈥� who oversaw both the 2006 Lebanon war and the 2008鈥�2009 Gaza war 鈥� The Guardian that the ICC should prosecute systematic attacks by settlers, which he likened to 鈥減ogroms.鈥�

Meanwhile, the legislation on the death penalty 鈥� a punishment objectionable in all circumstances as a matter of principle 鈥� stands to further enshrine in law the highly disparate approach to law enforcement vis-脿-vis Palestinians. Justitia鈥檚 scales 鈥� already heavily tilted and stained with blood 鈥� are about to be replaced with the executioner鈥檚 noose. 

[ edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.