Israeli Occupation Causes 89 Percent of Property Fires in the West Bank

The Israeli occupation is responsible for nearly 89 percent of fires targeting homes, buildings and vehicles belonging to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of 2023, according to the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission.

In its report, the commission said it had documented 900 cases of arson targeting Palestinian property between January 2023 and 10 July 2026. According to the report, the Israeli occupation was responsible for 799 cases, or 88.8 percent of the total fires, while the remaining 101 cases were attributed to the Israeli army.

The number of recorded fires rose from 217 cases in 2023 to 264 cases in 2024. In 2025, 307 incidents were recorded. The commission also documented 112 fires from the beginning of 2026 until 10 July.

Nablus and the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorates were the most affected areas, with 281 and 271 fire cases respectively. Together, the two areas accounted for 552 incidents, or around 61.3 percent of all cases documented by the commission.

During the same period, 121 Palestinian communities were also wholly or partially forced to evacuate, including 46 communities that were emptied entirely. The situation forced more than 6,200 Palestinians to leave their homes, including more than 3,000 children, according to the report.

The commission attributed the attacks to a ‘permissive governance environment’ that shields settlers and contributes to impunity. It also said illegal settlement outposts increasingly serve as launching points for attacks involving arson, road closures and restrictions on Palestinian access to their land and water resources.