More than 100 settlers riot in Jalud, blocking a Palestinian family's return

An overnight attempt by Israeli security forces to bring a displaced Palestinian family back to its home in the West Bank village of Jalud was called off after more than 100 Israeli rioters converged on the area, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson. The military said soldiers and Border Police officers were deployed from Monday night into Tuesday to disperse the crowd and protect local residents, and that the violence meant the mission to return the family could not be finished.

In its account, the army said the rioters blocked roads, set tyres alight and threw stones at security personnel, and also burned Palestinian structures, vehicles and other property. The IDF said on X that three Border Police officers were hurt and that forces detained two suspects, who were handed over for questioning. The Hebrew version of the statement, circulated by the Telegram channels of Amit Segal and Abu Ali Express, described the officers' injuries as light. Israel Hayom likewise reported that three officers were injured and that Palestinian property was set on fire.

The family at the centre of the operation

The Times of Israel identified the family as the Tubasis, and reported that they left their home in Jalud in July after sustained harassment and attacks by settlers. The paper said the family home was among the buildings reportedly set on fire during the night. The IDF statement itself did not name the family, saying only that it had been driven out following a number of incidents of what the military termed nationalist crime.

Ynet spoke to the father, whom it named as Mohammed Tubasi. He told the Hebrew news site that his return had been arranged in coordination with the army, and Ynet reported that his houses were set alight by roughly 100 Jewish rioters.

A ruling from Israel's highest court

The return was not a routine arrangement. According to The Times of Israel, the High Court of Justice ordered in September that the family's safe return be guaranteed, in a ruling that sharply criticised the authorities for not acting against the attacks. Haaretz also reported that forces failed to carry out the return despite a court decision requiring it. Ynet quoted the judges as describing nationalist crime as contrary to the basic values of the state.

The High Court of Justice is the name Israel's Supreme Court takes when it hears petitions against state bodies, including the military. Petitions from Palestinians in the West Bank concerning the conduct of Israeli authorities are brought before it in that capacity.

Where Jalud is, and who was involved

Jalud is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank. The Times of Israel placed it near the city of Nablus, and the IDF's Hebrew statement located it within the area of the army's Samaria Brigade. Israeli officials and the military commonly refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, the biblical names for the region, and the IDF used that term in its post on X.

Two forces were involved. The IDF is Israel's military, which holds overall security authority in the West Bank. The Border Police, known in Hebrew by the acronym Magav, is a branch of the Israel Police that operates alongside soldiers in the territory and is frequently deployed to handle riots.

The phrase nationalist crime is a translation of the Hebrew term the Israeli security establishment generally uses for violence by Jewish Israelis against Palestinians motivated by ideology. The IDF used it here to describe what drove the family out, and the court used it in its ruling.

Political reaction

Ynet reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again characterised those responsible as a handful, and that opposition politicians attacked the government's response, with one line of criticism, as quoted in Ynet's headline, warning that the situation was leading to disaster. Ynet's summary did not name the opposition figures.

Where the accounts differ

The reports broadly agree on the scale of the crowd, the burning of property and the three injured officers, but there are points of difference. The IDF and most outlets put the number of rioters at more than 100, while Ynet said about 100. Ynet's headline also described the family as having come back in coordination with the army and then encountering the rioters, whereas the IDF said the mission to return them was not completed. It is not clear from the material whether family members reached the house at any point during the night.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports identifies the two suspects who were detained or says whether they were settlers from a particular community, or whether they have been charged. The reports do not say how many Palestinian homes or vehicles were damaged, or whether any Palestinian residents were injured. There is no indication in the material of where the Tubasi family is now staying, when another attempt to return them might be made, or how authorities intend to comply with the court's order. The name of the settlement or outpost the rioters came from is not given.