Middle East

West Bank: settlers attack a village, 5 Palestinians arrested and one injured

US President Donald Trump, on the other hand, pressured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to change his policy on the West Bank

30 December 2025

Gli iraniani camminano davanti a un enorme striscione dell'ex comandante della Forza Quds del Corpo delle Guardie Rivoluzionarie Islamiche (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani in vista del sesto anniversario del suo assassinio a Piazza Valiasr a Teheran, Iran, il 30 dicembre 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

About 10 settlers, some of them masked, entered the Palestinian community of Ras Ein al-Auja in the Jordan Valley north of Jericho in the West Bank this afternoon, sparking clashes. Haaretz writes this. According to Israeli peace activists on the scene, five Palestinians were arrested, while another was injured after being attacked by settlers.

Activists pointed out that the arrests were made following reports from settlers. Some videos show a masked settler armed with an IDF weapon riding into the village. Witnesses reported that Israeli security forces were called after an Israeli boy was injured in the face. According to settlers, the boy was injured by stones thrown at him by Palestinians.

Backstage: Putin mediates between Iran and Israel to avoid escalation

Meanwhile, Russia reportedly mediated recently between Iran and Israel, facilitating an exchange of messages to avoid escalation. This was reported by the website Amwaj, citing several sources.

An informed source in the region with knowledge of the private communications told the site that Iran and Israel had an exchange of messages through a "mutual friend", pointing out that the exchange took place after an alleged request by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to an intermediary to convey a message stating that Tel Aviv does not want military escalation".

A senior political source in Tehran confirmed that there had recently been indirect communication with Israel, emphasising 'there is no ceasefire agreement' and that it was 'a mutual announcement to a mutual friend not to carry out new attacks'.

According to the source, this 'mutual friend' would be Russia, and in particular President Vladimir Putin. According to the Iranian source, the 'mutual announcement' concerned the separate communication by Iran and Israel to the intermediary of their intention not to resume hostilities.

The regional source went on to point out that the 'mutual announcements' by Iran and Israel were two weeks old.

Trump asked Netanyahu for new West Bank policy

US President Donald Trump and his top advisers have called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change policy in the occupied West Bank, where over the past three years his far-right government has promoted policies that have weakened the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), deprived it of funds, expanded settlements, legalised outposts, forcibly displaced Palestinians and taken steps towards annexation. The Axios website reports this, citing two sources privy to the meeting in Florida yesterday, at which the White House warned that violent escalation in the West Bank could undermine efforts to implement the peace agreement for the Gaza Strip and prevent the expansion of the Abrahamic Accords before the end of Trump's term.

According to sources, Trump and his advisers asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative actions and to 'restore calm'.

The sources said that the issue was discussed both during the preparatory meeting Netanyahu had with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and during the meeting with Trump. Meetings in which settler violence against Palestinian civilians, the financial instability of the PNA and the expansion of Israeli settlements were discussed.

According to the US, changing course in the West Bank is crucial for the resumption of Israel's relations with European countries and, hopefully, for expanding the Abrahamic Accords. "Netanyahu has spoken very harshly about settler violence and said he will take further action," a source said.

In the press conference after his meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he had had "a long conversation on the West Bank", pointing out: "I wouldn't say we agree 100 per cent on the West Bank, we haven't reached an agreement, but we will get there.