Palestinians see fewer paths to safety amid violence with Israel

Community watches, neighbors as first responders, the creation of local militias: After a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence and the deadliest month in the West Bank in years, Palestinians who feel vulnerable and abandoned say they have dwindling options to protect lives and property increasingly under threat.

Repeated deadly Israeli military raids in West Bank towns and camps and a surge in settler attacks under a new far-right Israeli government, some of whose members appear eager to fan the flames, have been met with an uptick in Palestinian so-called lone wolf attacks.

Familiar calls by the international community for restraint and calm as a response to this cycle of violence are doing little to fill a void of security for Palestinian civilians who feel exposed and leaderless. As West Bank residents turn inward to protect one another, that void is being filled