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Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Village, Block Palestinian Family’s Return

Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Village, Block Palestinian Family’s Return. Source: AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi

More than 100 Israeli settlers attacked the occupied West Bank village of Jalud, preventing a Palestinian family from returning to their homes and clashing with Israeli troops, according to witnesses and the Israeli military.

Two homes owned by the Tubasi family in Jalud, north of Ramallah, had been taken over by settlers several weeks earlier amid rising settler violence and land seizures across the West Bank. The family temporarily relocated elsewhere in the village before the Israeli military agreed to escort them back late Monday and provide protection.

Witnesses said more than 100 settlers arrived roughly 10 minutes after the family returned. The group allegedly set the homes on fire, blocked roads and threw rocks at Israeli forces. Three officers were injured, according to the military.

The escalating violence forced troops to abandon the effort to return the family permanently. Witnesses said soldiers initially moved the Palestinians to the roof after settlers entered the properties before evacuating them as clashes intensified.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the violence and called for those responsible to be prosecuted. Israeli and Palestinian rights organizations have long raised concerns about accountability for settler attacks in the West Bank.

Wael Tubasi, owner of one of the damaged homes, said the properties had been extensively vandalized, with doors, windows, bathrooms, stairs and tiles damaged or destroyed.

Reuters journalists who visited the homes Tuesday reported blackened walls and evidence of fires involving tyres brought into the properties. Israeli soldiers were patrolling the area, while the Tubasi family was absent.

The Israeli military said two settlers were arrested and an investigation was underway.

Separately on Tuesday, settlers allegedly torched vehicles in the West Bank village of Al Mughayyir and spray-painted the word “revenge” on an apartment building.

The incidents come amid heightened international scrutiny of Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

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