A high-level delegation of European and Western diplomats visited the Palestinian town of Kafr Malik on Monday, days after a deadly rampage by Israeli settlers left three Palestinians dead and seven injured, reported by Anadolu News Agency. The assault, which unfolded last Wednesday, saw dozens of settlers storm the village northeast of Ramallah, torching homes and vehicles in a coordinated attack denounced by Palestinian officials as state-sanctioned terror.
Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam received around 20 diplomatic representatives from the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The delegation toured charred vehicles and bullet-scarred homes, and met with grieving families.
“This is not an isolated incident but a pattern of violence protected by the Netanyahu government,” Ghannam told the diplomats. She accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of empowering settler militias in a campaign to expel Palestinians from their land.
EU envoy to Palestine Alexandre Stutzmann called the destruction in Kafr Malik “deeply shocking.” “No one should be murdered in their home or forced to live in fear,” he said. “This violence must end, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.”
Stutzmann reaffirmed the EU’s stance that Israeli settlements violate international law and pose a grave threat to peace. He called settler violence “unacceptable,” warning that impunity fuels further bloodshed.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, settler attacks in the West Bank have surged, with 415 incidents documented in May alone.
Since Israel’s military operation in Gaza began in October 2023, nearly 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers, per the Palestinian Health Ministry. The International Court of Justice last year declared the occupation and settlements illegal under international law.
