Israeli settlers torch Palestinian homes, injure six in coordinated West Bank attack

At least six Palestinians, including four children, were injured when a large group of Israeli settlers carried out a coordinated overnight attack on the village of Tuba in the occupied West Bank’s South Hebron Hills.

The attackers arrived in vehicles, stormed Palestinian homes, assaulted residents and set fire to buildings, trees and bales of hay, Haaretz reported. They also destroyed solar panels and damaged at least six structures before retreating towards the nearby Havat Ma’on settler outpost, residents said.

Those injured included a mother, three girls aged between five and eight, a ten-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man. 

Describing the ordeal, Radwan Abu Jundi, a Tuba resident, said his family hid inside their home as settlers threw stones at the building and attempted to break in.

Family members moved the women and children into an inner room and locked the door while the attackers began setting fire to the surrounding buildings and outdoor kitchen.

“If any of us had stayed outside, they would have killed us,” Abu Jundi told Haaretz.

His wife suffered injuries to her head and body, while his daughter required medical treatment.

Witnesses described a large group which arrived together in vehicles, targeted several homes and withdrew collectively towards a nearby settlement outpost.

The Israeli army said the attackers had fled before soldiers reached the village. Police officers later collected evidence, but Israeli authorities announced no immediate arrests.

The army claimed that it “strongly condemns these types of events, including harming residents like women and children”. Its response did not explain how such a large, organised group had travelled to the village, carried out an extended arson attack and escaped without interception.

The raid came as veteran Ynet military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai had warned that Jewish extremists and terrorists had effectively become “the sovereign” in the occupied West Bank.

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Ben-Yishai said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), police and Shin Bet internal security agency had lost the ability, or willingness, to enforce the law against violent settlers.

“The IDF has lost control of the extremists among the settlers and has become a security company for their whims and illegal actions,” wrote Ben-Yishai.

The Tuba attack will be seen as further evidence for Ben-Yishai’s warning that violent settlers have become the effective sovereign in the occupied West Bank. Settlers were able to assemble, travel in a convoy, enter a Palestinian community, attack families and burn homes before the army arrived. 

After terrorising Palestinians, the apparent withdrawal of settlers towards Havat Ma’on also highlights the role of settlement outposts as bases from which organised violence against neighbouring Palestinian communities are launched.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has accused the government of organising, financing and protecting what he described as a campaign of settler terrorism intended to drive Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. He identified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other members of the coalition as responsible for providing the campaign with state backing. 

The attack on Tuba followed a series of similar arson attacks across the occupied territory.

Palestinian residents reported that settlers set fire to vehicles and property in Talfit and Jalud, near Nablus, on Tuesday. Settlers also recently torched two mosques in the West Bank and sprayed racist graffiti on their walls. Israeli police said they had arrested two settlers on suspicion of involvement in the mosque attacks. 

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented more than 1,330 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage during the first seven months of 2026. 

The violence has reached record levels despite repeated claims by Israeli officials that the state opposes attacks on Palestinian civilians. An Israeli army commander warned last month that “Jewish terrorism threatens everyone’s security”, while former senior military and intelligence officials have called on the government to confront violent settler groups. 

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