Over 100 settlers attack Palestinian family in West Bank, injuring Israeli security forces

More than 100 settlers in the West Bank village of Jalud overran Israeli security forces on Tuesday as a Palestinian family attempted to return to homes that had been seized. The crowd set the houses ablaze, blocked roads and threw stones, injuring three Israeli police officers. The family was later evacuated in armored vehicles after being forced onto the roof of one house.

President Isaac Herzog described the incident as a “moral stain,” and Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and leading challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for action to stop what he termed a “campaign of terror and violence.” The International Committee of the Red Cross said the attack highlighted how settlement expansion, frequent violence and movement restrictions are making daily life “untenable” for Palestinians, who are protected under international law.

Julien Lerisson, head of the ICRC delegation for Israel and Palestine, urged that “the frequent and severe violence must be brought to an end” and that protections for private property and essential services be respected. Israeli military spokespersons said two suspects had been detained and emphasized that attacks on soldiers “cross a clear red line.”

The incident comes amid heightened international scrutiny of settler activity, with several European countries announcing new trade restrictions on settlement products and a U.S. bill on human-rights reporting narrowly failing in the Senate. Analysts noted that the scale of the assault and the injuries to Israeli officers have prompted unusually strong criticism from within Israel.