Attacks on Palestinians across the West Bank have surged to record levels, with Israeli settlers and soldiers operating in near-total symbiosis. Victims of shootings, beatings, and stonings reveal their ordeals.
“Settler” is not a neutral descriptor. In English, the word entered common use in the early 17th century to describe people establishing permanent communities in sparsely inhabited areas. At first, the term evoked ideas of pioneering and self-reliance. But during and after the age of European colonialism, it grew heavier with meaning, often associated with conquest, displacement, and injustice.
In today’s activist and postcolonial discourse, “settler” frequently implies illegitimacy, occupation, and even violence. That shift in meaning has colored its modern use, especially in contested areas like the West Bank.
For Palestinians, the term “settler” is almost always pejorative. The settlements are seen as encroachments on land designated for a future Palestinian state, and the continuing expansion—especially under the current Israeli government—has been viewed as a major obstacle to any viable two-state solution.
So, no, those fuckers don’t consider “settler” to be anodyne.
Here is what mainstream Israeli press thinks of the term:
So, no, those fuckers don’t consider “settler” to be anodyne.