Israel army accused of 'active' support for settlers in West Bank violence

As violence surges in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians and human rights groups decry an increasingly blurry distinction between the Israeli army and settlers, emboldened by the current pro-settlement government. 

In the West Bank, the "line that never really existed between the army and the settlers" has now "been completely erased", said Joe Carmel, advocacy coordinator for Breaking the Silence, an Israeli anti-occupation NGO made up of former soldiers.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 1,096 settler attacks on Palestinians in the territory between October 7 and March 31.

That represents an average of six attacks per day, up from two a day in 2022.[AFP]