As Israeli election looms, settler violence spikes (opens in new tab)

Bezalel Smotrich used an alleged arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against him to insert fresh impetus into the effort to build settlements in the West Bank, saying on Tuesday that he wanted to make the settlements “irreversible.” He also ordered the eviction this week of Palestinian residents from a West Bank hamlet.Smotrich’s move comes as violence by Jewish extremists against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged this year. In the first three months of 2026 alone, the...