Settlers attack village near Nablus, burn two homes

NABLUS, Sept. 29 (YPA) – A large number of settlers attacked the village of Jalud, south of Nablus, early Tuesday morning and set fire to two homes belonging to the Al-Tubasi family. The family had previously been forced to leave the homes last July following months of harassment and repeated attacks.

Palestinian sources reported that settlers attacked the village and set fire to two houses owned by the family of Mahmoud Al-Tubasi, causing the structures to catch fire and inflicting severe damage on their contents.

The sources added that the attack caused panic among village residents, who attempted to confront the colonists before large forces from the Israeli occupation army arrived at the scene.

The sources further stated that occupation forces did not intervene to stop the settlets’ attack; instead, they provided them with protection and deployed additional military reinforcements to the area, while forcing members of the Al-Tubasi family to evacuate their home again at gunpoint.

Just hours before the attack, occupation authorities had permitted the family to return to their home—following about two months of forced displacement—in accordance with an Israeli Supreme Court ruling enabling them to reclaim the property.

Mahmoud Al-Tubasi, the owner of the damaged home, stated that the family had returned to the house pursuant to the court ruling, only to be shocked by the extent of the destruction and vandalism inflicted upon it during the period when settlers had seized the property and prevented the owners from accessing it.

He added that the settlers returned during the night and set fire to the house, destroying the structure and its contents, and rendering it uninhabitable.

The village of Jalud, along with surrounding villages and towns south of Nablus, frequently experiences attacks by settlers , including assaults on residents, land seizures, and the destruction of property and agricultural crops.

@E.Y.M