West Bank: Over 100 settlers attack Palestinian village

There has been renewed massive violence by radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank. According to media reports, more than 100 extremists were involved in riots in the area of ​​the town of Jaloud, south of Nablus. The Israeli armed forces said soldiers and police were involved in an operation against the rioters.

The settlers therefore tried to prevent a Palestinian family from returning to their home. The affected Tubasi family had to leave their home in July after repeated and violent harassment by settlers. According to the military, their return had been coordinated in advance.

According to the military, the radical settlers blocked roads, set buildings and vehicles on fire and threw stones at the security forces. Three police officers were injured. Two of the rioters were arrested.

According to Palestinian media reports, the attackers also set the Palestinian family's house on fire. A court had previously upheld the family's lawsuit and ordered settlers to leave the house they had occupied. According to reports, the Jewish extremists had previously harassed the family for a long time. The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the new attack prevented the family's return.

Israeli President Izchak Herzog condemned the settler attacks and spoke of serious acts of violence. These are a “moral flaw and an attack on the rule of law”. They must be punished to the fullest extent of the law, he demanded.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also condemned the incident as “serious and despicable.” Investigations have been initiated and he encourages investigators to bring the rioters to justice. However, according to the human rights organization Yesh Din, the conviction rate for violent settlers is less than five percent; In almost all cases, no charges are even filed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he called for the rioters to be punished to the “full extent of the law.” At the same time, he spoke of a small group of troublemakers who did not represent “the law-abiding settlers” in the West Bank and who caused them great harm. All settlements are contrary to international law.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz also reassured. It was “a handful of rioters.” They caused “serious damage to security efforts, the settlement system and the State of Israel.” The Palestinians affected remain unmentioned.

Settler terror is now the norm in the West Bank. The Israeli military itself counts 2.4 attacks per day, the United Nations more than twice as many. The Israeli state also provides the settlements and the settlement outposts, which are illegal even under Israeli law, with plenty of money: 5.3 billion euros since 2022. Compared to other places within Israel, there is much more funding per capita there, non-governmental organizations denounce.

The situation in the occupied West Bank has generally worsened since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 and the Gaza war it triggered. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 1,100 Palestinians have since been killed there in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and their own attacks. Violence by radical Palestinians has meanwhile declined significantly: According to the military, there were 57 terrorist attacks in 2025, 258 in 2024 and even 847 in 2023. (dpa/taz)