fahmi-reza
Israeli settlers set fire to two Palestinian homes in the northern occupied West Bank village of Jalud, local sources reported, marking the latest in a series of violent assaults that have swept across the territory in recent months. The attack targeted properties belonging to the Tubasi family, who had attempted to return to their residences just hours earlier under an Israeli court decision following nearly two months of displacement, according to accounts provided to Turkey's Anadolu news agency on Tuesday.
The family had been forced to abandon their homes in July after enduring repeated harassment and violence at the hands of settlers. Their return was meant to be facilitated through a legal ruling, but the situation quickly deteriorated as settlers who had occupied the property prevented the owners from accessing it, homeowner Mahmoud Tubasi told Anadolu. The family discovered extensive destruction upon their arrival, and the settlers returned during the night to set the house ablaze, rendering it uninhabitable.
Villagers attempted to confront the attackers before Israeli forces arrived at the scene, the sources added. The fires caused significant damage to both structures while spreading panic throughout the community. According to the same sources, Israeli troops provided protection to the settlers and dispatched additional military reinforcements to the area. Israeli forces also compelled members of the Tubasi family to evacuate their homes once again at gunpoint.
In a statement, the Israeli military said more than 100 settlers rioted in Jalud overnight, blocking roads, setting tyres on fire, and throwing stones at security forces. The military claimed its soldiers and Israel Border Police forces operated in the area to disperse what it described as Israeli rioters and to protect local residents, noting that the return of a Palestinian family had been coordinated. "Due to the violence, the mission to return the family to their home was not completed," the military added.
The incident reflects a broader pattern of escalating violence against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, which has intensified significantly since October 2023. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded more than 1,330 settler-related attacks on Palestinians from January to late July, averaging six per day—the fastest pace recorded in approximately two decades. Settler groups, frequently supported or shielded by Israeli soldiers, have employed methods including shooting, besieging homes, and other forms of communal violence that experts have characterized as pogroms.
In a separate attack on Tuesday, Israeli settlers assaulted an elderly Palestinian woman after breaking into her home in Qaryut, south of Nablus, according to local sources. A video filmed by volunteer medic Bashar al-Qaryuti showed the woman had suffered bruises to her hand and head. She reported that a group of settlers broke down the door of the house and attacked her, underscoring the vulnerability of elderly residents in areas prone to settler incursions.
In al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank, settlers attacked Palestinian homes and property as Israeli army forces raided the village and detained a young man. Witnesses told Anadolu that the attack targeted three homes, while the assailants set fire to another residence belonging to a Palestinian detainee. The simultaneous military raid and settler assault illustrate the overlapping pressures facing communities already living under occupation.
Julien Lerisson, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation for Israel and the occupied territory, addressed the rising settler activity on Monday. "The frequent and severe violence must be brought to an end," he said. "Authorities have a responsibility to protect the population from violence, including when that violence is inflicted by settlers. What international humanitarian law says on the protection of private and public property and on the population's access to essential services must be respected."
International criticism has mounted in response to the escalation. In August, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described Israeli settlers involved in violence against Palestinians as "terrorists," warning that such acts cause serious damage to Israel's image. His comments represented a rare public rebuke from a senior American official, though critics have noted that diplomatic statements have not translated into concrete measures to curb the attacks.
In June, 14 UN special rapporteurs warned that the sharp rise in what they termed "settler terror," carried out with state support and complicity in occupied Palestinian territory, posed an existential threat to Palestinian communities. The experts emphasized that the pattern of violence was not random but systematic, aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land and altering the demographic composition of the territory.
Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law, a position affirmed by numerous UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice. Despite this legal consensus, settlement expansion has continued unabated, with successive Israeli governments providing financial, logistical, and military support to settlement enterprises. The Tubasi family's ordeal—displaced, briefly returned under court order, then driven out again by fire and gunpoint—encapsulates the wider experience of Palestinian communities caught between settler violence and insufficient legal protection.
Comments (0)