Israeli settlers attacked the West Bank village of Jalud late Monday, setting fire to Palestinian homes and clashing with Israeli security forces during an operation to escort a displaced family back to their property. The Tubasi family, whose homes had been torched earlier this year amid escalating settler violence, had recently secured a high court order requiring the Israeli state to evict settlers from the area and facilitate their return.

According to reports, roughly 15 military police officers attempted to accompany the Tubasi family back to their homes, but were quickly overwhelmed by a hostile crowd of settlers. The security force was outnumbered as tensions rose during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a period known for increased settler activity. Local sources said the settlers attacked the family’s house, forcing them to seek refuge on the roof before the military evacuated them using armored vehicles. Following the evacuation, the crowd set fire to two houses and obstructed roads while throwing stones at Israeli security personnel, injuring three.

Wael Tubasi described extensive damage to the properties, stating that doors, tiles, stairs, bathrooms, and windows were destroyed. The incident has drawn sharp criticism and highlighted ongoing security challenges in the occupied West Bank, where more than 60 Palestinian communities have been erased since October 2023, displacing nearly 5,000 people — nearly half of whom are children, according to the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem.

In response, an Israeli military spokesperson said two suspects had been detained and condemned the violence against soldiers as a “clear red line” that cannot be tolerated. The statement emphasized the need to address settler militancy at its root, warning that such attacks must not become normalized.

The government’s handling of settler violence has drawn scrutiny from various quarters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the “violent riots” and called for prosecution of the perpetrators, while defending the broader settler community as law-abiding. “The handful of rioters are not representative of the law-abiding settler public in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said, using an Israeli term for the West Bank.

Critics, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have called for international intervention through the International Criminal Court, arguing that the Israeli state has failed to control settler violence. Some voices within Israel have questioned the military’s capacity to manage the situation, with commentators describing the event as both a terrorist attack and a significant failure of the Israeli defense establishment. Avi Ashkenazi, writing in Maariv, suggested that extremist right-wing activists currently hold de facto control over parts of the West Bank.

The incident underscores the broader tensions in the region, which international bodies including the United Nations have condemned. A landmark 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice reaffirmed that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank violates international law, a view supported by the British government. The ongoing clashes and destruction in Jalud reflect the fragile and volatile security environment in this contested territory.