RAMALLAH, West Bank (Dispatches) – A senior Israeli security official has warned that the occupied West Bank is on the verge of an explosion unless the current trajectory of violence and economic decline is reversed, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The official, who was not named, said the deteriorating security situation is proving difficult to contain and is stretching the capacity of the Israeli military. 
The proliferation of flashpoints across the territory, coupled with the need to protect illegal settlements, is eroding the army’s strength, the official was quoted as saying.
“The security situation in the West Bank has special characteristics that require a different approach,” the official said. The comments come amid a surge in Israeli military raids and Palestinian militant attacks.
Israeli forces carried out multiple detention raids across the West Bank on Monday, with at least 10 Palestinians kidnapped in the Bethlehem, Nablus, and Hebron (Al-Khalil) areas. The raids are part of a near-daily terrorist campaign that rights groups say has intensified.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies reported that at least 130 Palestinian women and girls have been kidnapped in the West Bank and occupied East Al-Quds since the start of 2026. 
The center said kidnaps have risen sharply since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, with approximately 800 cases documented, often on “vague charges” linked to social media activity. About 91 women remain in Israeli detention.
The economic crisis was also highlighted as a critical factor. The Israeli official described the Palestinian population as a “ticking time bomb,” citing severe financial hardship. 
The situation has been exacerbated by Israeli restrictions on Palestinian workers and the withholding of tax revenues.
On Monday, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi warned that escalating settler violence, including the burning of a factory near Ramallah and attacks on agricultural land in the Jordan Valley, is part of an organized campaign to displace Palestinians.
He stated these “crimes will not achieve their objective of displacing the Palestinian people” and called on the international community to act.
The West Bank has seen a significant uptick in settler attacks, with Human Rights Watch reporting an average of 6.6 attacks per day in 2026.
The incidents have contributed to the displacement of dozens of families and are part of a broader pattern of systematic pressure, according to the organization.