The EU aid programme for Palestinians in the West Bank will support communities affected by attacks from Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian Authority and the European Union’s office in Jerusalem. The initiative, expected to be finalised in the coming months, comes as violence in the occupied West Bank has intensified and rural Palestinian communities face growing pressure from attacks, property damage and movement restrictions.
A €6 million EU project focused on protection and documentation
The programme is being developed by the European Union in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and with local and international civil society organisations. According to information provided to AFP by the EU representative’s office in the Palestinian Territories, the project will aim to document attacks by violent Israeli settlers and support Palestinian communities targeted by such violence.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said the EU would launch, in coordination with the government, a programme to support victims of what he described as “settler terrorism”. The EU office said the initiative would include a protective presence and practical protection tools, including fences, for communities exposed to attacks.
The budget is expected to be around €6 million, with the project still under preparation. The amount is limited compared with the scale of humanitarian needs in the occupied Palestinian territory, but it signals a more targeted European response to one of the most visible drivers of displacement in the West Bank.
Settler violence has become a daily threat for rural communities
Violence by Israeli settlers has been a long-standing problem in the occupied West Bank, but humanitarian organisations have reported a sharp deterioration in recent months. Palestinian rural and herding communities are among the most vulnerable, partly because they are often isolated and have limited access to protection, services and legal support.
Reported incidents include physical assaults, arson, crop destruction, livestock theft and attacks on homes, vehicles and schools. These attacks often have effects beyond the immediate damage. They can restrict access to farmland, disrupt education, undermine livelihoods and push families to leave communities that become increasingly difficult to sustain.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that the humanitarian situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate amid settler violence, Israeli military operations and movement restrictions. In several updates this year, OCHA linked settler violence and access restrictions to displacement, particularly among Bedouin and herding groups in the Jordan Valley.
Why the West Bank aid programme matters for EU policy
The new West Bank aid programme fits into a broader European position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EU has repeatedly stated that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law and undermine the prospects for a two-state solution. Israel disputes this interpretation and refers to the territory using the biblical names Judea and Samaria.
In April, the EU also condemned Israel’s decision to establish more than 30 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying that such unilateral actions undermine the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. The EU has also called on Israel to protect the Palestinian population in the occupied territories and to reverse settlement expansion.
The aid initiative therefore has both humanitarian and political significance. It is designed to help communities exposed to immediate risks, but it also reflects European concern that settler violence and settlement expansion are making a negotiated political solution less viable.
More than 500,000 settlers live among three million Palestinians
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, among roughly three million Palestinians. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war and has maintained military control over much of the territory since then.
For Palestinians, settler violence is part of a wider system of insecurity that includes land access restrictions, demolitions, military raids and the expansion of settlements and outposts. For Israel, successive governments have argued that the West Bank has security, historical and religious significance, while far-right ministers have pushed for further settlement expansion and opposed the creation of a Palestinian state.
The EU’s programme will not alter the broader balance of power on the ground. Its practical effect will depend on how it is implemented, which communities receive support, and whether documentation of attacks leads to stronger accountability. But it marks a clearer attempt by the EU to address settler violence not only as a security issue, but as a humanitarian and legal concern with direct consequences for Palestinian communities.
A limited measure in a worsening conflict
The expected EU-funded project comes as violence across the occupied Palestinian territory remains high and diplomatic efforts remain fragmented. Its focus on documentation, protection and civil society support suggests a practical approach rather than a major political shift.
Still, the measure matters because it recognises the vulnerability of communities that are often far from diplomatic attention but close to the front line of settlement expansion. For the EU, the challenge will be to connect this targeted aid with a coherent policy on international law, accountability and the future of the two-state solution.
