Settler Violence Blocks Palestinian Family’s Return

More than 100 Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jalud, south of Nablus, as Mahmoud al-Tubasi and his family attempted to return to their homes under Israeli military escort. The return followed an Israeli High Court ruling that the family should be allowed back after settler harassment had driven them from their properties earlier in the summer. The court had ordered a safe return by 20 September, but the family’s attempt was disrupted by violence.

More than 100 Israeli settlers raided the Palestinian village of Jalud in the occupied West Bank early Tuesday, setting fire to Palestinian buildings and vehicles and injuring three Israeli Border Police officers. The attack occurred as Israeli forces were accompanying a Palestinian family back to a home from which they had been displaced by earlier settler attacks. The military said settlers blocked roads, burned tyres and threw rocks at security forces. One person was arrested and two minors were taken for questioning. The violence prevented the family from returning to their home, which a family member said had been occupied by settlers. He reported that settlers attacked them on arrival, though the family was not physically injured. The incident prompted unusually strong public criticism from Israeli officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned what he described as the actions of a small group of rioters, while President Isaac Herzog called the attack a moral stain and an assault on the rule of law. The article notes that such condemnation is rare when Palestinians are the victims of settler violence. The raid took place amid international criticism of settlement activity and violence, which Netanyahu had downplayed in a recent UN address. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967; about 500,000 Israeli settlers live there among three million Palestinians, and settlement expansion is accelerating. Other attacks were reported Tuesday in al-Mughayyir, where residents described a settler raid and an AFP journalist saw at least five burnt-out cars, and in Beitunia, where settlers held a Sukkot prayer gathering using loudspeakers. Beitunia’s mayor described the gathering as a dangerous precedent and cited settlement-related activity nearby. The article says settler attacks—including beatings, vandalism and arson—averaged six a day in the first half of the year, according to the UN. It also reports that violence has risen since the Gaza war began in October 2023: an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data recorded at least 1,111 Palestinians killed, while Israeli figures recorded at least 49 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

The National reports a surge of attacks by Israeli settlers and other Israelis against Palestinians and Christian pilgrims during the Jewish holiday period, with incidents occurring overnight into Tuesday in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. In Jalud, about 150 settlers rioted as Israeli forces attempted to escort the Tubasi family back to their home, from which they had been displaced months earlier. The family fled in an Israeli military vehicle after border police failed to disperse the crowd; three Israeli personnel were lightly injured. The army said two suspects were detained and transferred to civilian police. In nearby Al Mughayyir, settlers reportedly set fire to buildings and vehicles while Israeli forces conducted a raid. In Jerusalem, footage showed Jewish men assaulting an elderly Palestinian near Damascus Gate as bystanders watched, laughed and cheered. Other incidents included a Jewish civilian urinating at the entrance to the Armenian community’s Convent of St James, and religious Jews spitting at Christian pilgrims praying on the Via Dolorosa. The article also recalls a recent pepper-spray attack on a nine-year-old Armenian boy and the police’s reopening of that case after public outrage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Jalud riot but described those involved as a “small number of rioters.” Politicians from across the Israeli opposition also criticized the violence. Gadi Eisenkot called the attacks immoral and warned that anarchy and loss of control had reached new heights under the government. Ahmad Tibi and Gilad Kariv likewise condemned the attacks, with Kariv describing the West Bank violence as a “pogrom.” The article contrasts these condemnations with the election rhetoric of senior ministers. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused Palestinian citizens of Israel of nationalist extremism and said his government’s policies in the West Bank should also be applied to Arab-populated areas inside Israel, including the Negev and Galilee. His stated aim to “re-Judaise” those regions underscores concerns about displacement and escalating tensions.