The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) organised an online panel discussion addressing the sharp escalation of settler violence and the acceleration of forced displacement across the occupied West Bank. The webinar examined the deteriorating conditions facing Palestinian villages, rural communities, and refugee camps, while situating these violations within their broader political and humanitarian context. It also explored the role of international solidarity and organised advocacy in confronting these developments.

The webinar was opened by Mohammad Zakariya, who warned of the gravity of the current moment in the West Bank amid the intensifying attacks linked to Israeli settlers and military operations. He stressed that these developments are unfolding alongside a deepening humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Zakariya underscored the importance of documenting these violations and understanding them as part of a structural and systematic process, rather than treating them as isolated or exceptional incidents.

Context, Lived Testimonies, and the Role of International Solidarity

Throughout his contributions, Mohammad Zakariya focused on situating events in the West Bank within their wider context, explaining that attacks on Palestinians, particularly farmers and rural communities, form part of a sustained pattern aimed at undermining daily life and pushing communities toward displacement. He highlighted the continuation of military incursions into several refugee camps in the northern West Bank, noting the extensive destruction of infrastructure and the displacement of residents that accompany these operations.

Zakariya also reflected on his experience with the International Solidarity Movement during the olive harvest season, describing how international activists accompanied Palestinian farmers as they attempted to access their land under constant threat of harassment and attack. He argued that these experiences reveal the extreme fragility of land access under occupation and demonstrate the critical importance of international solidarity rooted in partnership with local communities and the amplification of their testimonies to a global audience.

In his role moderating the discussion, Zakariya raised key questions about the limits of humanitarian aid in addressing the root causes of displacement, the inadequacy of political condemnations unaccompanied by concrete action, and the responsibilities of Western governments, particularly the UK government, given the persistence of political and economic cooperation despite official statements condemning settler violence.

Life Under Constant Threat and the Targeting of Land and Communities

Sameh Shahrouj, a Palestinian educator and community activist, delivered an in-depth intervention grounded in lived experience and daily realities in the West Bank. He challenged portrayals of the West Bank as “quiet” or “stable,” arguing that such narratives obscure the structural violence Palestinians endure on a continual basis. This violence, he explained, manifests through permanent movement restrictions, military checkpoints, and sudden closures that render daily life unpredictable and create a constant state of anxiety and insecurity.

Shahrouj pointed to the territorial fragmentation resulting from the division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C under the Oslo Accords, noting that large swathes of land remain under direct Israeli control. This, he said, severely restricts Palestinians’ ability to build, expand, or even access their own land, functioning as a practical mechanism for reshaping the demographic and geographic reality at the expense of Palestinian presence.

He highlighted the intensification of settler attacks on isolated villages south of Nablus, including Yanun, Duma, and al-Mughayyir, explaining how geographic isolation is deliberately exploited to impose a regime of continuous intimidation. This includes arson attacks, destruction of vehicles, home invasions, and the denial of access to agricultural land, pressures that increasingly force families to leave their communities.

Shahrouj emphasised that targeting agriculture, particularly olive groves, strikes at the heart of Palestinian livelihoods and erodes communities’ capacity to remain on their land. The loss of land, he stressed, is not merely economic but represents the severing of a historical and cultural relationship central to Palestinian identity.

He also addressed conditions in refugee camps, especially Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams, noting that repeated military operations and the resulting destruction and displacement do not only target physical structures, but also assault the collective memory and symbolic significance of refugee camps as living reminders of the 1948 Nakba and ongoing dispossession.

Palestinian Youth in Britain and Building Strategic Campaigns

Hiba Salameh, a Palestinian activist based in Britain and a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, focused her intervention on the role of Palestinian youth in the diaspora in confronting displacement and settlement policies through organised, long-term strategic campaigning.

Salameh rejected narratives that frame settler violence as the actions of a few extremist individuals, arguing instead that such violence is structurally embedded within a settler-colonial system built on land seizure and the imposition of coercive realities on Palestinians. She noted that selective official condemnations often serve to preserve the legitimacy of this system without delivering meaningful protection or accountability.

She explained that the Palestinian Youth Movement works to dismantle these narratives by linking events on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza to the economic, military, and diplomatic policies that sustain occupation. Central to this approach, she said, is transforming popular solidarity into tangible political and economic pressure.

Salameh outlined several campaign models pursued by activists in Britain, particularly Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives within universities, trade unions, and local councils. These efforts aim to scrutinise and challenge investments and partnerships connected to settlements and the arms industry.

She also discussed a campaign targeting Maersk, noting that activists exposed the company’s entanglement within the settlement economy. Maersk’s subsequent announcement halting shipments linked to settlements marked a significant precedent, demonstrating the capacity of organised, strategic campaigning to achieve concrete outcomes when grounded in careful analysis and sustained pressure.

Salameh concluded by stressing that hope should not be understood as an emotional stance, but as a daily political practice rooted in organisation, discipline, and the construction of enduring structures, drawing inspiration from Palestinian steadfastness on the ground and the accumulated experiences of organising in exile.

Conclusion

The webinar concluded with an open discussion addressing the limitations of humanitarian aid in tackling the root causes of displacement, the importance of amplifying Palestinian narratives internationally, and the role of international legal mechanisms in accountability processes. Participants emphasised the need for continued public pressure and organised action as essential pathways for confronting settlement expansion and forced displacement.

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) is a UK-based organisation dedicated to defending the rights of Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian people as a whole, with a particular focus on the right of return and international accountability. The Centre has held consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2015 and operates across grassroots engagement, policy advocacy, and international forums.

Watch the webinar here

https://www.youtube.com/live/geWbTDcim68