Key facts
- Militant Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian family in Jalud, West Bank, on Tuesday.
- Settlers set fire to two homes and injured three Israeli security personnel.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the attacks a "moral stain".
- Gadi Eisenkot, a rival to Prime Minister Netanyahu, described the violence as a "campaign of terror and violence".
- The ICRC warned that settler violence and restrictions make life "untenable" for Palestinians.
- Two suspects were detained following the incident, according to an Israeli military spokesperson.
Militant Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian family attempting to reclaim their homes in the West Bank village of Jalud early Tuesday, setting fire to two houses and injuring three Israeli security personnel who were present to escort the family. The incident has sparked strong condemnation from Israeli officials and international organizations.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that escalating settler violence, combined with settlement expansion and movement restrictions, has made daily life for Palestinians "untenable" and violates international humanitarian law. Julien Lerisson, head of the ICRC's delegation for Israel and Palestine, urged an end to the frequent and severe violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the attacks as a "moral stain," while Gadi Eisenkot, a leading political rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for immediate action to halt a "campaign of terror and violence." Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, noted that settler violence is becoming an issue for Israeli politicians primarily because it damages Israel's international image and signals a loss of control by the military.
Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the "violent riots" and called for the prosecution of attackers, while also defending the broader settler movement, stating that the rioters do not represent the "law-abiding settler public." However, some Israeli commentators, like Avi Ashkenazi writing in Maariv newspaper, characterized the event as a "terrorist attack" and a complete failure of the defense establishment, suggesting that "extreme rightwing terrorist activists" are the de facto sovereign in the West Bank.
According to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem, over 60 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have been eliminated since October 2023, displacing nearly 5,000 people, including almost half children. The Tubasi family, whose homes were burned in Jalud, had previously been forced out by settlers and had secured a high court ruling for their return. The military's escort of approximately 15 officers was quickly outnumbered by a violent crowd, leading to the evacuation of the family and the subsequent arson of their homes.