Over 100 Israeli settlers attack Jalud and block Palestinian family's return under military escort

Settler mob halts court-ordered return

Israeli security forces attempted to escort members of the Palestinian al-Tubasi family back to their homes in the northern West Bank village of Jalud late on Monday night. The operation followed an order issued earlier in September 2026 by Israel's High Court, which instructed the military to secure the family's return after settlers seized their property. Mahmoud al-Tubasi, 60, his wife Aida, 51, and their son Wael, 33, reached the location under army and border police protection around midnight. Within ten minutes of their arrival, more than 100 Israeli settlers gathered after coordinating through messaging groups to prevent the family from re-entering the village.

As soon as we entered the house, which had already been completely destroyed, settlers started throwing stones at us. The army responded by firing tear gas at them, but there were so many settlers, more than 150, that the army could no longer control them.

Clashes, arson, and evacuation

The settlers blocked access roads, set tyres on fire, and threw stones at security personnel. Attackers set fire to two houses owned by the family and burned nearby civilian vehicles. Israeli soldiers moved the family onto the roof before ordering an emergency evacuation as the violence expanded, leaving the return mission uncompleted. Three Israeli Border Police officers suffered light injuries during the confrontation, and one security vehicle was damaged. Wael al-Tubasi reported that the settlers had stripped electrical fixtures, broken floor tiles, and smashed doors and windows inside the residences prior to setting them alight.

They damaged everything - the doors, the tiles were removed, the stairs were removed. They smashed the bathrooms, doors and windows. They left nothing, everything was broken.

State reactions and arrests

Israeli police arrested three people following the incident, including two minors detained for questioning, and initiated a criminal investigation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement condemning the perpetrators, describing them as a small group of rioters interfering with military operations. President Isaac Herzog publicly denounced the raid, describing the violence as an assault on the rule of law. Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations noted that settler attacks in the territory rarely result in convictions or sustained prosecutions.

History of displacement in Jalud

The al-Tubasi family was initially displaced in July 2026 following weeks of intimidation from an unauthorised settler outpost established near Jalud. In August 2026, the military declared a closed military zone to prevent unauthorized entry, but residents documented soldiers standing by while settlers accessed the properties, leading the army to reassign those soldiers away from combat roles. The confrontation occurred alongside broader demographic pressures in the West Bank, where approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers live alongside three million Palestinians under military occupation established in 1967. According to United Nations OCHA data, settlers have carried out more than 1,600 attacks across the West Bank in 2026, while more than 6,100 attacks have occurred since late 2022.