More than 100 Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Jalud in the northern occupied West Bank, setting fire to homes and vehicles and preventing a displaced family from returning to its property.
The Tubasi family had tried to return under an Israeli court ruling after nearly two months of displacement, but settlers rioted overnight, blocking roads, throwing stones, and burning tires.
Local sources said villagers confronted the attackers before Israeli forces arrived, yet two houses belonging to the Tubasi family were torched and the family was forced to evacuate at gunpoint.
The Israeli military said soldiers and border police dispersed rioters and protected residents, but the mission to return the family was not completed because of the violence.
Homeowner Describes Damage After Court Ruling
Mahmoud Tubasi, the homeowner, said the family returned under court order only to find their homes extensively damaged and occupied by settlers.
He added that the settlers came back at night to set the houses on fire, leaving them uninhabitable.
The Tubasi family had fled in July after repeated settler harassment and violence.
Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has risen sharply since October 2023, with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recording over 1,330 settler-related attacks from January to late July 2026.
Settler groups, often protected by Israeli soldiers, have carried out shootings, home sieges, and other communal violence that experts describe as pogroms.
Separately, settlers assaulted an elderly Palestinian woman in Qaryut, south of Nablus, breaking into her home and causing injuries, according to local sources and video footage.
In al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, witnesses said settlers attacked Palestinian homes and property while Israeli forces raided the village and detained a young man.
Julien Lerisson, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation for Israel and the occupied territories, urged authorities to end the frequent and severe violence, stressing the responsibility to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee labeled violent Israeli settlers as terrorists, warning such acts harm Israel's image.
UN special rapporteurs warned in June that rising settler terror with state complicity threatens the existence of Palestinian communities.
