US penalties aren’t stopping Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians

Haitham Kaabna and his family were terrified when dozens of Israeli settlers stormed their village of Tajamaa al-Murajaat in the occupied West Bank on October 13.

The settlers, he says, were protected by the army and carried M16 assault rifles as they attacked farmers.

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For two weeks, settlers destroyed olive trees, vandalised cars and stole cattle. The violence led to the forced displacement of some 200 Palestinian families from Tajamaa al-Murajaat, in the Jordan Valley.

Kaabna stayed, until settlers entered his home on October 26 and he felt he had to flee with his family to safety.

“Maybe 40 settlers came into our house and began beating up women and children. They also hit my brother and my son, who is only about two years old,” Kaabna told Al Jazeera.

Since October 7, Israeli settlers have attacked and expelled 20 Palestinian communities in the West Bank, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The forced expulsions have flown under the radar due to Israel’s war on Gaza, ostensibly in retaliation for a Hamas-led surprise attack on southern Israel, which has killed more than 34,000 people and drawn accusations of genocide.

Attacks have escalated in recent weeks, despite moves by the United States government to sanction some settlers and cut military aid to an Israeli army unit implicated in grave human rights violations.