Israeli settlers attack West Bank village and block Palestinian family’s return home

More than 100 Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village in West Bank

More than 100 Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, preventing a family from returning to homes that settlers had seized weeks earlier despite an Israeli court ruling allowing them to go back.

Two houses belonging to the al-Tubasi family in Jalud, south of Nablus, were set on fire during the attack on Monday night. Israeli security forces were also targeted by the settlers.

Human rights organisations say the incident highlights the failure of Israeli authorities to take effective action against settler violence.

“It was extremely terrifying, beyond words. It’s hard to imagine the situation,” Mahmoud al-Tubasi told the BBC.

“My feeling now is that I am happy to have escaped death. I genuinely expected they were going to kill us.”

Al-Tubasi, 60, returned to his property with his 51-year-old wife Aida and their 33-year-old son Wael. The family was accompanied by Israeli forces after Israel’s High Court ruled earlier this month that they must be allowed to return to their homes.

The family had been forced to leave during the summer following weeks of harassment and attacks by settlers. Extremist settlers had established an illegal outpost near Jalud and surrounded three houses, including two belonging to the al-Tubasis’ sons, who are married and have young daughters.

Al-Tubasi said he was contacted around midnight and told that Israeli authorities had coordinated with the military to facilitate the family’s return. He was informed that if he wanted to reclaim his property, he needed to go immediately with the army and Israeli border police.

The family inspected one of the houses by torchlight. Footage shared with the BBC showed extensive damage inside, including broken doors and windows, damaged electrical fittings and ripped-up floor tiles. Rubbish was scattered throughout the property, while the toilet had been smashed and appeared to contain human waste.

Settlers confront family as they return home

Large numbers of settlers travelled to Jalud after messages were circulated in WhatsApp groups used to coordinate their activities. The messages said the Palestinian family that had been forced from its homes was returning and should be stopped.

“As soon as we entered the house, which had already been completely destroyed, settlers started throwing stones at us,” al-Tubasi said.

He said Israeli soldiers responded with tear gas but were eventually unable to control the crowd, which he estimated at more than 150 people.

The family was protected by a group of Israeli soldiers who used pepper spray to prevent settlers from approaching them, according to al-Tubasi.

The settlers then slashed the tyres of the military van in which the family had been placed, before the family was moved into an armoured military vehicle.

As they were being taken away, settlers set fire to the family’s car and both houses. Footage filmed from a distance showed smoke rising from the properties.

Al-Tubasi said Israeli security forces “essentially formed a barrier, took us out safely and got us away from there”, but accused them of taking no action against the settlers themselves.

The Israel Defense Forces said more than 100 Israeli “rioters” were in the village, blocking roads, setting tyres on fire and throwing stones at security forces.

The military said three police officers suffered minor injuries and a security forces vehicle was damaged. It described the al-Tubasi family as victims of “nationalist crime” and said the mission to return them home could not be completed because of the violence.

Jalud’s local council head said residents confronted the settlers, leading to clashes that spread to a nearby village. A Palestinian woman was assaulted by settlers there and her home was set on fire, he said.

Israeli government condemns attacks on security forces

A month before the latest incident, Aida al-Tubasi was attacked by masked Israeli settlers while American journalists were interviewing her in Jalud. She and the journalists were injured.

The High Court ruling, which criticised Israeli authorities for failing to adequately address settler violence, ordered that the family be safely returned to their homes by 20 September.

The ruling described settler actions as “a completely unacceptable phenomenon” that contradicted the basic values and moral principles of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the attacks on security forces and called on law enforcement agencies to prosecute those involved “to the fullest extent of the law”.

Israeli police said three people suspected of taking part in the attacks had been arrested.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly the previous week, Netanyahu rejected international criticism over settler violence. He accused the media of overlooking attacks against Jewish Israelis while focusing on what he described as “a handful of juvenile delinquents” numbering around 150 who throw stones, cut down olive trees and occasionally set fires.

Human rights groups highlight low conviction rate

According to Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, fewer than 3% of police investigations into settler violence over the past two decades have resulted in convictions.

Ziv Stahl, the group’s executive director, attributed the lack of effective law enforcement to what she described as a systematic government policy aimed at pushing Palestinians out of parts of the West Bank and expanding Israeli control over land.

Netanyahu’s government has overseen a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing biblical and legal claims to the territory. Some ministers have said they want to “bury the idea” of establishing an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

Settlements and outposts are illegal under international law.

The United Nations says settler violence in the West Bank has reached record levels this year. Since 2023, more than 6,500 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of settler attacks and restrictions on access, according to the UN.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded 6,199 incidents involving Israeli settlers that caused casualties or property damage during the same period.

OCHA says at least 82 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank this year, while four Israelis, including security personnel and civilians, have also been killed.

At least 23 of the Palestinian deaths occurred in the context of settler attacks.