The West Bank on the Brink: Israel’s Far Right, U.S. Support, and a Region in Crisis

By Steven Sahiounie, Journalist and Political Commentator

While the world remains focused on the escalating confrontation between the United States and Iran, another crisis is deepening in the occupied Palestinian territories. Across the West Bank, Israeli military raids, mass arrests, settlement expansion, and attacks by extremist settlers are creating an increasingly volatile reality that threatens to push the region toward another major explosion.

The question is whether the escalation is simply a continuation of Israel’s decades-long settlement policy or whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government is deliberately exploiting the current regional turmoil to strengthen its political position and consolidate support among Israel’s most nationalist and ideological voters.

The answer may be a combination of both.

The settlement project did not begin with the current Israeli government. However, the rise of the far-right coalition led by Netanyahu has given figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unprecedented political influence. Both have long supported the expansion of Israeli settlements and advocated policies that would strengthen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank.

Their influence has raised concerns that settlement expansion and settler violence are becoming increasingly intertwined with official government policy.

The timing is particularly significant. With Israel facing growing international criticism over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, and with the political future of Netanyahu’s coalition increasingly dependent on the support of the religious and nationalist right, the Palestinian issue has become both a security challenge and a domestic political battlefield.

For Israel’s far right, the West Bank is not merely a territory disputed over borders. It is viewed as an essential component of an ideological project rooted in the belief that Jews have a historical and religious claim to the land.

Palestinian writer and political analyst Nael Barakat, speaking to me about the latest developments, argues that the roots of the settlement movement extend back more than a century.

“The conflict and the construction of settlements are not new phenomena,” Barakat said. “They began with the emergence of the Zionist movement, which promoted the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine as part of its broader objective of creating a Jewish state.”

He pointed to the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and the British Mandate as milestones in the development of the Zionist project.

According to Barakat, the creation of Israel in 1948 and the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 marked further stages in a process that eventually produced a vast settlement network.

“The settlement issue is rooted in an ideological project and is not simply a dispute over borders,” he said. “It is not solely connected to the proximity of Israeli elections, nor is the current escalation entirely new.”

That argument is important because it challenges the assumption that the violence in the West Bank is driven exclusively by short-term electoral calculations. The ideological foundation of settlement expansion predates Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich by decades.

Yet the current political environment has undoubtedly accelerated the process.

Washington’s Enduring Support for Israel

At the heart of the debate over Israel’s military and settlement policies lies the role of the United States, which has remained Israel’s most important international ally since the establishment of the state in 1948.

Washington has provided Israel with extensive political, economic, military, diplomatic, and strategic support for decades. According to widely cited estimates, total U.S. assistance to Israel since 1948 has exceeded $175 billion, including substantial military assistance. Under the current long-term framework, Israel receives approximately $3.8 billion annually in U.S. military aid.

The American-Israeli relationship extends far beyond financial assistance. Washington has repeatedly provided Israel with diplomatic backing at international institutions, particularly at the United Nations Security Council, where successive U.S. administrations have used their veto power to block resolutions viewed as detrimental to Israel.

Supporters of the alliance argue that the United States and Israel share important strategic and security interests, including intelligence cooperation, military coordination, counterterrorism, and technological development.

The relationship is also influenced by domestic American politics, where pro-Israel advocacy groups, religious constituencies, and other political forces have historically played an important role in shaping U.S. policy toward Israel.

Critics, however, argue that Washington’s unwavering support has allowed successive Israeli governments to pursue policies that would otherwise face greater international pressure.

This debate has become even more intense since the outbreak of the Gaza war following the October 7, 2023 attacks.

A report prepared by the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft estimated that the United States had provided Israel with at least $21.7 billion in military assistance since the beginning of the war.

According to the report, which relied on open-source information concerning U.S. assistance to Israel during the administrations of former President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump, approximately $17.9 billion in military assistance was provided during the Biden administration following October 7, 2023, while an additional $3.8 billion was provided under Trump.

The report noted that some of the military assistance had already been delivered, while other weapons and military equipment were scheduled to be transferred in subsequent years.

These figures demonstrate the scale of the U.S.-Israeli strategic relationship and help explain why Washington remains central to any discussion about Israel’s military operations and policies toward the Palestinians.

For Israel, American support provides not only military capabilities but also diplomatic and political reassurance. For Washington, maintaining the alliance is widely viewed as serving broader strategic interests in the Middle East.

Yet the relationship has also become a source of increasing controversy internationally.

As civilian suffering in Gaza has continued and violence in the West Bank has escalated, critics have argued that U.S. military and diplomatic support makes Washington indirectly responsible for policies carried out by the Israeli government.

The result is a growing contradiction in American foreign policy: while Washington publicly emphasizes regional stability and the need to prevent further escalation, its continued support for Israel’s military capabilities has been criticized by those who believe that the same support enables policies contributing to instability.

West Bank Violence Intensifies

Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, the West Bank has experienced a dramatic increase in Israeli military operations and settler attacks. Palestinian officials have reported thousands of arrests, widespread property destruction, and a growing number of Palestinian deaths and injuries.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces have carried out raids across multiple areas, including Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho, Qalqilya, and the outskirts of Jerusalem.

In the town of Tell near Nablus, Israeli forces reportedly searched dozens of homes, detained Palestinians, and conducted field interrogations.

At the same time, settlers have reportedly established new outposts, attacked Palestinian villages, damaged homes, burned property, and attempted to seize livestock and land.

Palestinian officials have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of providing protection to settlers during such attacks. Israeli authorities reject accusations that they deliberately facilitate violence and argue that their military presence is necessary to maintain security.

But the situation has become so tense that warnings are now emerging from within Israel’s own security establishment.

Israeli media have reported concerns that the West Bank is becoming “explosive” and increasingly difficult to control. Additional military forces have reportedly been deployed, with approximately 26 battalions operating in the area.

One Israeli security official reportedly warned that the situation was becoming like a “rolling snowball” that could soon become difficult to stop.

An Israeli reservist identified as Shahar, who has spent much of his military career in the West Bank, also criticized the way Israeli forces handled recent clashes between settlers and Palestinians.

“The army is not supposed to decide who is right and who is wrong,” he said, arguing that its responsibility should be to prevent violence and maintain order.

He accused soldiers of allowing tensions to escalate instead of separating the two sides quickly.

“They allowed the situation to escalate too much,” he said, warning that the current situation could ignite a much broader security crisis.

Such statements are significant because they suggest that concern over settler violence is not limited to Palestinian officials or international organizations. There is also growing recognition within parts of Israel’s security establishment that uncontrolled settler violence could ultimately undermine Israel’s own security.

International Pressure on Israel Is Growing

Internationally, meanwhile, Israel is facing an increasingly difficult diplomatic environment.

Ireland’s decision to ban the importation of goods originating from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory is an important example of the growing international pressure.

The legislation, signed into law by Irish President Catherine Connolly on July 23, 2026, follows approval by both houses of the Irish parliament. The measure is based in part on the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion, which found Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful and called on states not to recognize or assist in maintaining the situation arising from the occupation.

Ireland’s action reflects a broader debate over whether governments should continue economic relations with Israeli settlements established in territory occupied since 1967.

For Israel, the diplomatic consequences are becoming increasingly serious.

Although the United States under President Donald Trump remains Israel’s most important international ally and continues to provide significant political and military support, Israel’s standing among many governments and populations around the world has deteriorated sharply.

The devastation in Gaza, the scale of civilian suffering, and the continuing violence in the West Bank have fueled international demonstrations, boycott campaigns, and calls for sanctions.

The growing international criticism is particularly significant because it is occurring alongside the expansion of Israel’s settlement project.

The Netanyahu government therefore faces a complicated paradox. Its far-right partners are demanding stronger settlement policies and greater Israeli control over the West Bank, while Israel’s international isolation is increasing and its own security establishment is warning that the situation could spiral out of control.

Nael Barakat: The Settlement Project Is Ideological

Barakat argues that the political responsibility rests heavily with Netanyahu’s coalition.

“What we are witnessing is an escalation under a Netanyahu government that includes some of the most extreme elements of the settler right, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich,” he said.

“These figures have used their positions within the government to advance settlement expansion, accelerate construction, and promote policies designed to strengthen the settlement enterprise.”

He added that the current government has provided the settler movement with greater political influence and allowed its agenda to advance with greater speed and intensity.

From this perspective, the upcoming Israeli political calendar may be a factor in the government’s calculations, but it is not the primary cause of the conflict. The deeper issue is an ideological struggle over land, sovereignty, and the future of the West Bank.

At the same time, the political influence of the far right has created incentives for the government to adopt increasingly hard-line policies.

A Dangerous Crossroads

The critical question now is whether the West Bank is approaching a new breaking point.

The danger is that the combination of settlement expansion, settler violence, military raids, mass arrests, and growing Palestinian anger could create a cycle that neither the Israeli government nor the Palestinian Authority can control.

The international community also faces a difficult test. If the West Bank continues to deteriorate while the world’s attention remains focused on the U.S.-Iran confrontation, a new conflict could emerge largely unnoticed until it becomes impossible to contain.

The role of the United States will remain decisive.

Washington’s political, military, and diplomatic support has been a cornerstone of Israel’s security strategy for decades. Yet as international criticism grows, questions are increasingly being raised about whether unconditional or near-unconditional American backing is contributing to the continuation of policies that fuel instability.

The current crisis is therefore not simply about settlements or elections. It is about the future of the West Bank itself — and about the international system’s ability to respond to a conflict that has lasted for generations.

If settlement expansion continues, if violence by extremist settlers increases, and if Palestinians increasingly believe that there is no meaningful international protection, the possibility of a wider uprising or a new regional confrontation will grow.

Israel’s far-right government may believe that greater control over the West Bank will strengthen its security and political position. But the warnings from Israeli security personnel, the growing anger among Palestinians, and the increasing international pressure suggest that the opposite may be true.

The West Bank could ultimately become the next major front in a region already overwhelmed by conflict.

And while the world’s attention remains elsewhere, the foundations of that next crisis are being laid — one settlement, one military raid, and one act of violence at a time.

The question is no longer simply whether the West Bank will explode.

The question is whether the international community — and particularly the United States  —will act before it does.

Steven Sahiounie is a two time award winning journalist.