Violence in Jalud: over 100 Israeli settlers attack Palestinian village, three soldiers injured

On the night of September 28-29, over 100 Israeli rioters participated in violent riots in the Palestinian village of Jalud, near Nablus, and three soldiers were slightly injured in the clashes.

Spokesmen for the Israel Defense Forces and the police reported this, adding that rioters set fire to buildings, set vehicles on fire, blocked roads, burned tires and threw stones at security forces.

The IDF - they added - tried to help a Palestinian family return to their home in the village, after they had been forced to abandon it due to harassment suffered in the past by the rebels.

The Israeli police then announced that they had arrested three extremist settlers, the first two arrested are aged 15 and 17. Police found a balaclava and a bat in a suspicious vehicle used by the attackers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a note in which he stated that he "strongly condemns the violent riots that occurred tonight in Samaria and the attacks against the security forces who arrived on site to maintain law and order".

"A small group of troublemakers does not represent the settler population in Judea and Samaria who respects the law, causes enormous damage to their image and hinders our forces in carrying out their mission", added Netanyahu, expressing "full support for the IDF soldiers and agents of the Israeli Border Guard who work to counter terrorism and ensure security, and I ask the competent authorities to apply all the severity required by law towards those responsible".

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the violence: "The serious violence of the rioters in the dead of night is an extremely serious act that must be addressed with all the rigor of the law. It is a moral stain, damage to the rule of law and to our most basic values ​​as a people and as a state."

So too does Israel Gantz, head of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of settlers in the West Bank: ''The police must act with determination to arrest those responsible for the violence. The law must be applied in Judea and Samaria as it is applied in Tel Aviv or Kfar Saba. Episodes like those that occurred tonight can and must be prevented: the State of Israel has the forces and tools to stop these aggressions and must use them''.

The Trump administration has indicated that it is aware of the events. Axios' Barak Ravid reports, quoting a State Department official: "We condemn criminal violence perpetrated by any party in the West Bank and support appropriate investigations, accountability, and prosecution of those responsible," the official said, adding that the United States is in constant contact with Israel to improve stability and security in the West Bank.

In the meantime, however, the violence does not stop. According to what was reported by the Palestinian agency Wafa, this morning there were new raids in Sarda, Tira, Beitunia near Ramallah. The settlers attacked citizens and vehicles, as well as placing signs and hanging Israeli flags in several places.

Wafa also said that hundreds of extremists also entered the Temple Mount and, "under the protection of the Israeli police, performed rituals, Talmudic prayers, collective chanting and applause" at the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Eleven young people were arrested in East Jerusalem for attacking a group of Palestinians outside the Old City.

And again on September 29, harsh criticism was made by the Israeli High Court of Justice of the IDF's management during the siege by extremist settlers of the home of a Palestinian family in Qusra, in the West Bank, which occurred this summer.

In a ruling published two weeks ago and cited today by the Israeli media following the Jalud attack, the judges wrote that "the overall responsibility falls on the IDF, since the sovereign of the area is the military commander, who has the responsibility for the security of the local Palestinians", reads the decision, with which the Court had issued a conditional order against the army, asking it to explain why they would not intervene to allow the inhabitants to return to their homes.

The judges had also ordered the State to update them on any legal proceedings against the Israelis involved in the episode. "This is an unconscionable situation. The applicants were forced to abandon their homes after months of harassment and acts of violence, the IDF forces failing to fully guarantee their safety, security and property," the ruling reads.

The judges also criticized the phenomenon of settler violence against Palestinians, writing: "The phenomenon damages the international image of the State of Israel as the rule of law. But above all, it is an absolutely unacceptable phenomenon, contrary to the fundamental values ​​and moral principles of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and contrary to the principles of freedom, integrity and justice of the tradition of Israel and the prophets of Israel."

The ruling was issued following petitions filed by residents of Qusra village against the army's handling of attacks by groups of settlers that resulted in the evacuation of their homes.