Israeli occupiers torch homes in 3 West Bank villages

Israeli occupiers launched coordinated attacks on three Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank early Tuesday, torching homes and vehicles and assaulting an elderly woman, as Israeli army forces carried out raids in the area, local sources told Anadolu. In Jalud, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, a large crowd of occupiers targeted two houses belonging to the Al-Tubasi family and set them on fire, just hours after the family had returned under an Israeli court ruling that ended nearly two months of displacement.

Family forced out again at gunpoint

According to the sources, villagers attempted to confront the occupiers before large Israeli army forces reached the scene. The sources said Israeli troops did not halt the attack, instead shielding the occupiers and sending additional military reinforcements to the area. The forces also forced members of the Al-Tubasi family to leave their home once more at gunpoint, the sources added. Mahmoud Al-Tubasi, one of the homeowners, told Anadolu that the family had come back under the court decision only to find widespread destruction left by the occupiers, who had seized the property and blocked its owners from reaching it. He said the occupiers returned during the night and set the house on fire, destroying it and making it uninhabitable.

Elderly woman beaten in Qaryut

In Qaryut, also south of Nablus, Israeli occupiers assaulted an elderly Palestinian woman after breaking into her home, local sources said. A video recorded by volunteer medic Bashar Al-Qaryuti showed the woman with bruises on her hand and head. She said a group of occupiers had kicked down the door of the house before attacking the elderly woman.

Raids and arson in Al-Mughayyir In Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank, Israeli occupiers attacked Palestinian homes and property as Israeli army forces raided the village and detained a young man. Witnesses told Anadolu that the attack targeted three homes, while the assailants set fire to another house belonging to a Palestinian detainee. The occupiers also torched six vehicles, three of which were partially burned and three destroyed, the witnesses said.

Growing international concern

The violence has drawn mounting criticism abroad. In August, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described Israeli occupiers involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as "terrorists," warning that such acts cause serious damage to Israel's image. In June, 14 UN special rapporteurs warned that the sharp rise in "settler terror" with state support and complicity in the occupied Palestinian territory posed an existential threat to Palestinian communities. According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, occupiers carried out 628 attacks across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, in August. Official Palestinian figures estimate that around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, in 194 illegal settlements and 400 outposts. Since the start of Israel's genocide on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli forces and occupiers have intensified attacks across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, killing 1,206 Palestinians, injuring around 13,350 others, and detaining more than 24,600, according to Palestinian figures.