Settlers Overpower Israeli Forces to Block Palestinian Family’s Return Home

West Bank settler violence reached a startling new point this week when dozens of Jewish settlers forced back Israeli security forces who were trying to bring a Palestinian family home under a court order. The settlers then set fire to the family’s house and car, and several Israeli Border Police officers were hurt in the chaos, according to the Israeli military.

For the Tubassi family, it was the second terrifying attack in little more than a month.

A Family Already Driven From Home

Mahmoud Tubassi, 60, his wife Aida Ahmed Abdullah, 51, and their family were pushed out of their home in the West Bank town of Jalud in July after weeks of harassment and intimidation by violent settlers.

Their suffering did not end there. On August 28, masked settlers attacked the couple while they were being interviewed by a television news crew. Members of the crew were injured, and Abdullah was beaten until she lost consciousness. She has since recovered.

Earlier this month, Israel’s High Court of Justice stepped in. It ordered the authorities to make sure the Tubassis could return to their home within two weeks. The court also asked security forces to explain why they had not acted to bring the family back or to clear the barriers blocking access to their house and that of another Palestinian family.

Monday night’s operation was meant to carry out that order. It did not go as planned.

A Midnight Return Turns Violent

Tubassi said the ordeal started shortly before midnight on Monday. Abdel Azim Wadi, mayor of the nearby village of Qusra, which has also been hit hard by settler attacks, told him Israeli officials would escort him, his wife and their 33-year-old son Wael back to Jalud.

Four Israeli vehicles picked them up and drove them the short distance to their home, a pair of buildings inside a small walled compound on a hilltop.

Almost as soon as they arrived, settlers began pelting the armed police and soldiers with stones. According to Tubassi, the forces answered with tear gas and stun grenades.

He said he was frustrated that the security forces did not do more, arguing that they had far stronger options available but chose not to use them.

Tubassi described the night as the most frightening experience of his life, saying his family felt death drawing very close.

The Military’s Account

The Israel Defense Forces described the violence as severe. According to its statement, rioters began showing up after the Tubassis entered their home. They set fire to a neighboring house and then forced their way into the family’s home.

The military said the rioters also:

• Blocked access roads with large boulders
• Set tires alight
• Threw rocks at security personnel
• Torched Palestinian buildings and vehicles

Three Border Police officers were injured, and a security vehicle was damaged. The military did not immediately answer questions about whether tear gas and stun grenades had been used against the crowd.

Escape From the Rooftop

Once the settlers got inside, Tubassi said, security officers told the family to climb onto the roof. The settlers followed them up.

Several soldiers and police officers then formed a human shield between the family and the attackers. Eventually, the family was told to get into an armored vehicle and was driven away to safety.

They are now staying at the nearby home of Tubassi’s father, unsure of what happens next.

An Embarrassment for Israel’s Leaders

The failed operation adds to growing international concern over settler violence in the occupied West Bank. It has also become a source of embarrassment for Israeli leaders, who have struggled to explain how one of the world’s most powerful militaries has repeatedly been outmatched by groups of lightly armed young men.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack on Tuesday and called for those responsible to face prosecution. He insisted that a small number of rioters do not reflect the law-abiding settler community in Judea and Samaria, the biblical name Israel uses for the West Bank.

His remarks mirrored his speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week, where he rejected settler vigilantism but also played down the scale of the problem. He described the offenders as a small group of about 150 young delinquents responsible for stone-throwing, cutting down olive trees and occasional arson.

What the Numbers Show

UN humanitarian figures paint a far more serious picture than Netanyahu’s description suggests:

• Around 6,500 Palestinians have been displaced by settler attacks in the West Bank since 2023
• Between January 1 and July 24 this year, Israeli forces or settlers killed 76 Palestinians
• Three Israelis were killed during the same period
• In August alone, close to 200 settler attacks caused Palestinian casualties or property damage

Israel has often accused the UN of bias against it. However, many governments around the world regard the West Bank as illegally occupied by Israel.

Uncertain Future

It remains unclear whether police and soldiers will try again to enforce the High Court’s ruling. The Israeli military said it had no information on how the situation would be handled in the coming days.

Tubassi said Israeli officials have told him nothing about their plans, and he does not know whether he will ever be allowed back. Even if he is, the fire has left the house badly damaged.

He described the night as a nightmare, and said his family is now living through fresh ones as the scale of their losses sinks in. In his view, the Israeli state has failed to stop those who are taking Palestinian homes and land and endangering their lives.

A Test of the Rule of Law

The case highlights a troubling gap between court rulings and reality on the ground. Israel’s highest court ordered the family’s return, and the security forces tried to carry it out, yet a crowd of settlers was able to stop them.

For Palestinians in the West Bank, the Tubassis’ story is a stark example of the insecurity many face. For Israel, it raises hard questions about whether its institutions can enforce their own decisions when settlers choose to defy them.