Save the Children: Settler Violence Forces 10x More Palestinian Children from Their Homes in 2026 — 685 Displaced in 3 Months vs. 63-Per-Quarter Average

Save the Children International released a major report on April 30, 2026 documenting a dramatic escalation in Palestinian child displacement driven by Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. Key findings: 685 Palestinian children were forced from their homes by settler violence in the first three months of 2026 alone — ten times the average of 63 per quarter in the previous three years. In March 2026 alone, approximately 170 Palestinians were injured by Israeli settlers, the highest monthly injury count since Save the Children began documentation in 2006. Between March 31 and April 6, there were at least 47 documented settler attacks across 36 West Bank communities, injuring 36 Palestinians and damaging more than 250 Palestinian-owned trees, 7 homes, and 20+ vehicles. The report cited a pattern of IDF inaction during settler attacks, noting that soldiers frequently stood by without intervening. Former Mossad Chief and Israeli Army Central Command veterans separately warned this week that escalating settler violence 'could end in disaster' and is an existential threat to the State of Israel itself. Haaretz reported that the former Mossad chief called himself 'ashamed to be a Jew' over the violence. The UN OCHA separately documented 2,500+ Palestinians displaced in 2026 through demolitions, settler attacks, and evictions — 75% attributed to settler actions. The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan's al-Bustan district faces what UN officials describe as 'one of the largest expulsion waves since 1967.'