US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a US-Paraguay Status of Forces agreement signing ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, US, Dec. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Washington is “concerned” by settler violence in the West Bank and expects Israel to act, as a growing number of pro-Israel lawmakers in the US and senior Israeli military officials warn that the unchecked attacks are harming Israel’s security and international standing.

Rubio, one of Israel’s staunchest supporters within the Trump Administration, said from France that President Donald Trump has opposed “any sort of change in the status quo in the West Bank” and indicated that Israeli authorities recognize the seriousness of the problem.

Rubio’s remarks came amid months of attacks across the West Bank that have continued during the war with Iran.

The Times of Israel reported this week that the first 25 days of the war with Iran saw 257 incidents of extremist settler violence and land seizures, with at least seven Palestinians killed by Israeli civilians.

Many of the attacks have involved West Bank settlers physically assaulting residents — including elderly Palestinian women and children — torching Palestinian homes and vehicles, and hurling stones at cars on West Bank roads.

Israelis who have tried to document or stop the violence have also been severely injured by settlers. In February, two Israeli activists were hospitalized with serious head wounds after being beaten by settlers near Qusra.

Israeli soldiers have also been repeatedly attacked and wounded by settlers while responding to incidents.

“The Israelis themselves have expressed [concern],” Rubio added. “You’ve seen that some of these groups and individuals — maybe they’re settlers, maybe they’re just street thugs — have attacked Israeli security forces as well, so I think you’ll see the government there do something about it.”

The violence has drawn unusually sharp criticism from US lawmakers generally seen as strong supporters of Israel.

Among them are Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman of New York. Torres, widely regarded as one of Israel’s strongest advocates in Congress, said this week that “the crisis of extremist settler violence in the West Bank must be confronted, and the perpetrators must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” calling for “zero tolerance for violent extremism, no matter what form it takes.” Goldman similarly described the violence as an “outrage” and said, “the Israeli government must hold those responsible accountable, as the rule of law requires.”

One of the strongest warnings, however, has come from within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) itself.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said this month that attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinians and Israeli troops are “morally and ethically unacceptable” and cause “extraordinary strategic damage” to the military’s efforts during a multi-front war. Zamir stressed that the perpetrators “do not represent the settlements” and warned that such violence endangers “security, stability, and our values as a people and as a state.”

That warning took on added urgency when the IDF announced this week that it had diverted an infantry battalion that had been intended for fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon to the West Bank amid the latest wave of settler attacks, according to a report from The Jerusalem Post.

In a separate report, Zamir was also said to have warned ministers that the IDF risks “collapsing in on itself” under mounting operational demands and manpower shortages.