About 150 Israeli settlers rioted in West Bank, blocking IDF effort to allow Palestinians back home

Matan Golan, Yaniv Kubovich and Josh Breiner report in Haaretz on 29 September 2026:

About 150 settlers rioted overnight into Tuesday in the West Bank village of Jalud as Israeli forces failed to secure the return of a Palestinian family to its home, the IDF said this morning, despite a court ruling ordering that the family be allowed to return to their home safely.

Also overnight, Israeli forces raided the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, north of Ramallah, and arrested one of its residents. At the same time, settlers also raided the village and set cars and houses on fire.

In Jalud, three Border Police officers were wounded by the settlers and are in light condition, according to the IDF. The Israel police added that three vehicles were seized and three young men were arrested: an 18-year-old Jerusalem resident, a northern Israel resident and a 15- and 17-year-old West Bank resident.

The settlers set fire to Palestinian structures in the village, vehicles and other property, and also threw stones. The IDF’s statement said that such incidents “divert attention, undermine stability and harm the defense and counter-terrorism activities of the security forces.” A tour of the surroundings on Tuesday morning found the houses completely burnt and destroyed, along with burnt vehicles.

One of the Tubasi family members told Haaretz that around 11:00 P.M. on Monday, the IDF’s civil administration informed them they would be returned to their home that night. About an hour later, security vehicles escorted the family members, who were driving their car up the hill where the homes are located.

According to information obtained by Haaretz, the IDF decided to return the family members to their home without notifying the police or Shin Bet security service, leaving the soldiers escorting the family inadequately protected and the defense establishment unprepared for the riots that unfolded overnight.

Within ten minutes, he said, hordes of settlers arrived and threw stones at the homes. Border Police initially ordered the family to stay inside, as settlers tried to break in. The family member said that Border Police tried to disperse the settlers using tear gas and stun grenades, but the settlers broke in “through the door and the windows.” The family then fled to the roof, but the settlers managed to overpower Border Police guards and get to the roof.

The forces tried to expel the attackers, and when they failed, they put the family members into an armored military vehicle and evacuated them from the scene. According to the family member, half an hour later, smoke began to rise from the homes.

Security sources who spoke with Haaretz said that both the Shin Bet and the West Bank Police were caught off guard by Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth’s decision to return the family to their home in the middle of the night.

Forces were dispatched to the area only after authorities learned that some 150 settlers were heading there with the intention of attacking the family and setting fire to homes in the village.

“The IDF didn’t inform anyone,” a senior security source said. Therefore there were only 12 Border Police officers at the scene. “The IDF failed big time,” the source added.

“It’s impossible to explain how, in an incident of this magnitude, with the eyes of the entire world watching us and a High Court ruling in place, the IDF can do whatever it wants without coordinating with all the relevant forces and without considering the consequences of such an incident.”

Haaretz has learned that between midnight and 1 A.M., security officials began receiving numerous alerts about disturbances and settlers moving toward the Jalud area in response to the family’s return.

In practice, the family was escorted by a small West Bank Police force subordinate to Central Command chief Bluth. The force found itself at a severe numerical disadvantage, with roughly 15 personnel and the family facing some 150 Israeli settlers, who began attacking them, damaging vehicles and setting homes on fire.

“How did the IDF not realize the scale of this mission? To carry out an operation such as this, and during the holiday of Sukkot when the [settler] outposts are packed, is madness,” a security source said.

The Tubasi family were forced to leave their home about two months ago after settlers harassed them. The family’s homes are in Area B, where the Palestinian Authority administers civilian affairs and Israel maintains security control, and have been covered by a closed military zone order in recent months. The family was due to return Thursday, but the military coordination required for their return was postponed.

The state was supposed to secure the family’s return and update the court by September 22 on both their return and measures being taken to prevent settlers from coming back. Instead, it told the court that operational constraints had forced a postponement and that the return would take place “in the coming days.”

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