Two months after being forced from their home by Israeli settlers, a Palestinian family was finally able to return to their home overnight, only to be attacked again by settlers.
Tuesday’s attack on the Tubashi family involved more than 100 Israeli settlers, some of whom stormed the house and set it on fire.
This is the latest in a string of near-daily incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and, at times, against Israeli forces in the West Bank, leading to growing international condemnation.
The issue is also a focus of Israel’s upcoming general election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger Gadi Eisenkot condemning the action based on “dangerous (government) policies.”
Mahmoud Toubasi’s home in Jalou, in the northern West Bank, was first besieged by settlers in early summer. More than a month later, he and his family were finally evicted at the end of July, Tsubashi told CNN.
After numerous attempts to get his home back through legal means, Tsubashi finally received word from a coordinating body between Israeli authorities and the Palestinian security services that he could return home.
Escorted by Israeli police and the Israeli army, the family returned early Tuesday morning, passing settlers who had previously occupied the house and were now camping outside in tents. The house itself was in disrepair.
Video taken by Tsubashi’s son and shared with CNN shows debris strewn on the floor, doors and appliances destroyed, and large jagged holes in the walls.
Shortly afterward, more than 100 settlers stormed the house, assaulting and forcibly evicting the family and the police officers inside. The settlers then set fire to the building and the family’s car.
Nearby residents took video of the house engulfed in flames from the bottom of the hill, with smoke billowing into the night sky. Footage later taken at dawn showed the house completely destroyed, charred and blackened from the inside.
The Israeli army said in a statement that soldiers and police were working “to disperse Israeli insurgents and protect the population of the area.”
The statement added that two suspects were arrested after “more than 100 Israelis blocked roads, set fire to tires and threw stones at security forces.”
The statement said three border guards were slightly injured and a security forces vehicle was damaged in the attack, adding: “Security agencies strongly condemn acts of harm to security personnel, damage to property and vandalism in the performance of their duties.”
A State Department spokesperson told CNN: “We are aware of these reports and engage in regular dialogue with our partners about improving stability and security in the West Bank.”
“We condemn criminal violence by all parties in the West Bank and support appropriate investigations, legal accountability and judicial proceedings against those responsible,” the spokesperson added.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to downplay the daily attacks on settlers, calling them the work of “a small group of mobs.” He condemned overnight “violent riots” but made no mention of attacks on Palestinians, only attacks on security forces.
“The handful of rioters do not represent the Jewish and Samaritan law-abiding settler communities,” he said, using the West Bank’s Biblical names.
But Gadi Eisenkot, the main challenger in next month’s election, did not name Prime Minister Netanyahu but made it clear where the blame lies.
“This is what anarchy and loss of control looks like, and it has reached new heights under this administration. This reality of each person doing what is right in his or her own eyes is not dysfunctional or wrong, but a direct result of dangerous policies.”
Local residents say the settlers who carried out the overnight attack in Jalou are the same group that besieged a Palestinian-American home in the neighboring village of Qusra last month. Settlers have set up illegal outposts in the area and attack Palestinians on an almost daily basis.
Over the past three years, dozens of illegal Israeli settler outposts have been rubber-stamped by the Israeli government.
Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now criticized the Israeli government’s “double standards.”
“This is not a minority or a handful of weeds. This is a large, organized Jewish terrorist militia, supported and financed by your government, operating out of outposts and farms that your country has legalized and permitted,” the group said in a statement.
