Settlers set Palestinian homes and cars on fire in West Bank rampage
Settlers set Palestinian homes and cars on fire in West Bank rampage
Dozens of Israeli settlers rampaged through villages in the occupied West Bank overnight into Tuesday, attacking Palestinians and setting fire to homes and cars.
Around 100 settlers raided Jalud, south of Nablus, shortly after midnight on Monday, targeting the homes of the Toubasi family, Middle East Eye reported.
The family had been forced out of their home in July following repeated settler attacks aimed at taking over the property.
They returned to the house hours before Tuesday’s attack after an Israeli court ordered the army to secure their return.
Settlers then arrived in large numbers and set fire to two homes belonging to the Toubasi family, forcing them to flee again.
Mahmoud Toubasi, the owner of one of the houses, said the family was shocked by the extent of the destruction and vandalism when they returned.
The fire destroyed the house, damaged its contents and left it uninhabitable, he said.
Local media reported that Israeli forces eventually arrived but did not intervene to stop the attack. Instead, they provided protection to the settlers, according to the reports.
The Toubasi family was forced to evacuate the house again at gunpoint, the reports added.
The army also clashed with some settlers as it sought to disperse the large crowd.
Army officials said “rioters” had blocked roads, set tyres on fire and thrown stones at troops, injuring three officers.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the clashes between settlers and the army as a “moral stain and an attack on the rule of law and our most basic values as a nation”.
He did not mention the attacks on Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “small number of rioters does not represent the law-abiding settler community”, while also not referring to the violence against Palestinians.
Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, settlers set fire to a house and several vehicles during an attack on the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, overnight.
Large numbers of settlers also entered Beitunia and the Jaryout Road west of Ramallah under the protection of Israeli forces.
According to local sources, settlers attacked passing vehicles and pelted some with stones, creating an atmosphere of fear among residents.
In occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem), dozens of settlers attacked two Palestinian men at Damascus Gate late on Monday, with footage of the assault later posted online.
The footage showed Israeli youths pushing the two men to the ground and kicking them.
Occupied East al-Quds has been crowded with Israelis marking the Jewish holiday of Sukkot in and around the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, including areas surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Dozens of Palestinian shops have been ordered to close by Israeli forces to allow Jewish rituals to take place in the Old City’s alleyways, while Palestinian residents have been forced to remain indoors.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has long been a feature of life in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, but it has intensified sharply since the start of Israel's genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
Settlers carry out near-daily attacks on Palestinian towns and villages, including arson, vandalism, physical assaults and forced displacement, often under the protection of Israeli forces. More than 1300 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since 2023.
Earlier this year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory described the escalation in settler violence against Palestinians as unprecedented and sustained.
The commission said the Israeli government supports the attacks through financial backing, logistical assistance and military protection.
“Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the commission.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both were recorded between the beginning of January and September 14.
That amounts to an average of 6.7 attacks a day, compared with five per day in 2025, when 1,836 attacks were recorded. Around 1,500 attacks were recorded in 2024, compared with 1,291 in 2023 and 853 in 2022.
source: tehrantimes.com