The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the violence by Israeli settlers has made daily life for Palestinians "untenable". The ICRC stated that attacks, the expansion of settlements, and strict movement restrictions violate Israel's obligations under international law. Julien Lerisson, head of the ICRC's delegation to Israel and Palestine, stated that "frequent and severe violence must stop".
The attack on Palestinians attempting to return home prompted one of Benjamin Netanyahu's main rivals to warn of a campaign by settlers. More than a hundred militant settlers overpowered Israeli security forces in the early hours of Tuesday. The settlers attacked the Palestinian family as they attempted to take possession of their homes in the village of Jalud in the West Bank. Three Israeli security personnel were injured in the incident, and the houses were set on fire.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the attacks in Jalud as a "moral stain". Eytan Stross, a former military commander and Netanyahu's main challenger in the upcoming elections, called for action to stop the "campaign of terror and violence".
The Tubasi family, whose homes were burned in Jalud, had been forced to leave this summer following a weeks-long siege by militant settlers. Last week, the family secured a ruling from the High Court ordering the state to evict the settlers and ensure their return. On Monday evening, the military told the family that 15 military police officers would escort them home, as reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. However, the military had not informed the national police or the domestic intelligence service, the Shin Bet, of its plans, leaving them without security support. The settlers attacked the house as the family arrived, forcing them onto the roof, before the military decided to evacuate them in armoured vehicles. The crowd then set fire to the homes, blocked the roads, and threw stones at the Israeli security forces, injuring three people. Wael Tubasi told Reuters that two houses had been "severely damaged". "They damaged everything – the doors, the tiles were removed, the stairs were removed, the bathrooms were broken, the doors and windows were broken, and nothing was left, everything was broken," Tubasi said.
According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, more than 60 Palestinian communities have been erased from the map since October 2023. An additional 18 communities have been partially displaced, with nearly 5,000 people forced to leave their homes, of whom nearly half are children.
The ban on the import of settler products came into effect in the Netherlands last week. The United Kingdom has announced plans for stricter controls on trade and funding for settlements, with similar legislation set to be introduced in the US legislative body on Thursday. On Tuesday, a Senate bill requiring a human rights report on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank was narrowly defeated after receiving support from all but one Democrat. Israeli analyst Roy Sharon wrote on social media after the vote that "a catastrophe was avoided tonight, but the barrier has been broken". Sharon warned that the "anarchy in the West Bank" could cost Israel US military aid and international legitimacy. Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on the International Criminal Court to [text truncated].
