The conflict in the Middle East isn't isolated to Gaza.

Violence has been escalating against Palestinians in the West Bank.

New Jerseyans with family there say their loved ones have been facing increasingly deadly situations, including the cousin of Jersey City Councilman Yousef Saleh, who was recently killed by an Israeli settler just outside his village.

Human rights groups say his death represents the many layers of this war.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports.

Every day is a fresh new hell.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, stories of violence against Palestinians living in the Israeli occupied region in the West Bank have increased dramatically.

And recently, those stories have hit home.

Jersey City Councilman Yusef Saleh's 40 year old cousin, Bilal Saleh, who was a father of four, was shot and killed in his own olive grove.

He was out with his family.

He was harvesting olives.

This is the olive harvest season for Palestinian.

And essentially, he was accosted by several settlers.

And one of the settlers shot him in the chest and killed him.

You saw him?

Attari woke up in her Bergen County home to learn that her 20 year old cousin, Musab al Muntari, had been shot and killed on his olive grove in the West Bank.

He was shot in the back and then his body was dragged by the soldiers, according to my cousins, who were also there, and paramedics were not allowed to get to him for over 2 hours until he bled out and passed away.

Since the attack on Israel on October seven, the Israeli government has been arming Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a region of land that Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.

The Israeli government has since established settlements on that land, only some of which are recognized by Israel and international law as a means to establish its control over the region.

Palestinians say they've experienced dehumanizing rule in the region ever since.

Palestinians get arrested with no trial or no charges, and they could be put in prison for a year, two years, three years and let go.

We're not given reasons.

We don't have any system to seek out what is going on or to seek out any help.

We are under the control and force and we're at the mercy of whatever Israeli soldiers or the Israeli occupation wants to do to us.

And they say these recent attacks on farmers in their olive groves are yet another means to hurt Palestinians economically.

This is how they survive.

And without the olive trees and the olive oil that they create and all the products, they're not going to be able to survive.

Not only are they not allowed to pick the olives, the settlers who are illegally there are coming in and taking them.

They're actually picking out the olives.

A lot of olive trees have been set on fire.

And you're talking about olive trees that are two, three, four or 500 years old, passed down to us generation from generation to generation.

A group of about 30 human rights non-governmental organizations in Israel called on the international community to stop the wave of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank that they say are being supported by the Israeli government.

Arming the settlers, the group said in a recent op ed.

Government ministers and other officials are backing the violence, and in many cases the military is present or even participated in the violence, including in incidents where settlers have killed Palestinians.

Palestinians here in New Jersey are calling for an end to the occupation of the West Bank and want to see elected officials support a cease fire in Gaza.

Palestine and need to be given human rights.

And once we're on equal footing, then we can talk about a more permanent solution.

The solution is simple as an end to the occupation of Palestine, we stand up for human rights, for justice, for truth.

And what happened on October 7th, the terrorist attack is absolutely tragic.

And I feel for my Jewish brothers and sisters.

And I reached out to them when it happened to make sure that their family members and they were okay.

But what has proceeded since is absolutely an affront to humanity, and it is a stain on our moral conscience.

And they say a scar on their heart that won't heal anytime soon.

I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News.