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Netanyahu calls Qusra and Jalud raids a handful of rioters

Qusra, West Bank, PalestinePublished 30 Aug 2026

After settlers trapped Palestinians in a Qusra home and attacked an NBC crew in Jalud, Netanyahu, Herzog, and the Foreign Ministry condemned a few lawless rioters. Witnesses said soldiers beat the family that called for help. No settler arrests were announced.

On Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, dozens of Israeli settlers threw stones and barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home in Qusra, south of Nablus, trapping seven people. Masked settlers also attacked an NBC News crew and a Palestinian woman in nearby Jalud. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned “criminal acts of violence” by a “handful of rioters,” said three vehicles were seized, and called for arrests. President Isaac Herzog called the events a red line. Palestinian witnesses said soldiers who arrived fired tear gas, then handcuffed, blindfolded, and beat people inside; the military said it used proportionate force and had not announced settler arrests.

Shared facts

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home in Qusra, south of Nablus, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.

Settlers threw stones at the Qusra house while Palestinians were inside.

Seven Palestinians were trapped inside the Qusra home during the raid.

Witnesses said Israeli forces fired tear gas into the Qusra home.

The homeowner said Israeli soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded, and beat people inside the house after arriving.

Witnesses said soldiers detained Palestinians inside the home and allowed the settlers to leave.

The Israeli military said dozens of rioters barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while residents were inside.

The military said forces worked to remove the rioters, separate the groups, and confiscate vehicles.

Authorities had not announced any arrests of settlers after the Saturday raids.

Masked settlers attacked an NBC News crew and a Palestinian woman in nearby Jalud on Saturday.

Palestinian woman Aida Ahmed Abdullah was injured in the Jalud attack and taken for medical care.

NBC correspondent Matt Bradley was struck during the Jalud attack and later treated at a clinic.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qusra and Jalud attacks as criminal acts of violence.

Netanyahu blamed a handful of rioters who he said were violating the law.

Netanyahu said the rioters were causing a grave injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community.

Netanyahu said the rioters were interfering with the IDF carrying out its missions.

Netanyahu said the rioters were harming Israel's standing in the world.

Netanyahu said security forces confiscated three vehicles and ended the incident quickly.

Netanyahu said the IDF and police were conducting a vigorous investigation.

Netanyahu said he expects law enforcement to arrest the rioters and bring them to justice.

President Isaac Herzog condemned the Qusra violence.

Herzog called the events a crossing of a red line and a stain on Israel's face.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said violence by extremists contradicts the values of Israel.

Settlers had besieged other Palestinian homes in Qusra earlier in August, trapping residents inside.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the half-million Israelis in the West Bank are most disgusted by a small group of thugs.

The Israeli government has previously blamed a fringe minority for settler violence.

A UN inquiry in June said Israeli authorities were directly involved in settler attacks that killed, injured, and displaced Palestinians.

Most of the international community considers West Bank settlements illegal under international law.

The Jewish Chronicle

Netanyahu condemns settler violence and warns of damage to Israel’s standing in the world

JC Reporter

Published 30 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

Masked people were seen driving pick-up trucks around nearby Jalud.

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot held the government responsible for the violence.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

RFI

Netanyahu condemns settler attack in flashpoint West Bank village

AFP

Published 29 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

The earlier siege drew unusually strong criticism from the US ambassador.

Resident Yussef Abdul Kareem Hassan said villagers were working on a house when a small group of settlers approached.

The military said it was aware of reports of Palestinian injuries.

AFP footage showed dozens of Israeli forces deployed in Qusra on Saturday.

Recent months have seen a surge in settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank among some three million Palestinians.

An AFP tally of Palestinian health ministry data found Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Israeli figures show at least 48 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli operations in that period.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Reuters

Israeli settlers stage new attack on home in West Bank’s Qusra, witnesses say

Pesha Magid

Published 29 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

The military did not immediately respond to questions about firing tear gas and beating the residents.

US officials had pressed Netanyahu about two weeks earlier to publicly condemn settlers who besieged Palestinian homes.

Medic Saddam Oday said four of those trapped were injured by tear gas and two by stones.

Bayruti showed a bandaged arm he said was injured by a stone during the attack.

The Israeli mission in Geneva rejected the UN inquiry’s findings.

Ridi said he had seen near-daily settler encroachments around his home despite a heavy military presence.

Rights groups say increasing settler presence on the edge of villages like Qusra is part of an effort to seize more Palestinian land.

Ridi said he watched Saturday’s attack from his home.

Settler violence in the occupied West Bank has increased.

Netanyahu’s government has overseen a massive settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Israel rejects that view, treating the area as disputed rather than occupied.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

The National

Netanyahu says ‘handful of rioters’ behind West Bank settler violence

The National

Published 30 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

The military did not immediately respond to questions about the alleged treatment of the Palestinians.

Camera equipment and a vehicle belonging to the NBC crew were also damaged.

Herzog said the government and law-enforcement systems must bring the rioters to justice.

Residents reported persistent settler encroachments despite a heavy Israeli military presence near the homes.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

CNN

Israeli settlers storm Palestinian village, seizing home with owner inside

Abeer Salman, Oren Liebermann

Published 30 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

Adli estimated the crowd swelled to 60 or 70 settlers as he called Israeli police.

Adli said the stoning went on for an hour until the army came from in front of the house while settlers were behind.

The Israeli military said it used proportionate force against a Palestinian it accused of resisting and throwing stones.

Huckabee called the settler violence a horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass.

More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Israel’s current government has advanced plans for thousands of new West Bank homes and approved scores of new settlements.

Aida Ahmed Abdullah told NBC her family was forced out of their home by settlers.

The Foreign Press Association condemned the attack and called for an investigation.

Activist Ayed Jafry told CNN the area around Nablus was under threat of constant settler attacks.

Jafry said villages around Nablus are being targeted with daily attacks.

Israeli security forces said they were working to prevent further violence in the area.

The IDF and Border Police said they continue to operate in Qusra and Jalud to restore order.

The security forces said they strongly condemn all forms of violence.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered elevated military readiness in the West Bank because of escalating tensions.

Zamir ordered preparations for immediate deployment of units to reinforce the area.

Zamir said the IDF will maintain full multi-front readiness through the holiday period with no reduction in forces.

Opinion

Jafry said a policy of displacement is organized between the army and the settlers.

Jafry said the military often works with the settlers instead of stopping them.

CNN said the settler violence has shown itself to be more widespread than a small band of extremists.

Al Jazeera

What’s behind Netanyahu’s condemnation of this weekend’s settler pogroms?

Mohammad Mansour

Published 30 Aug 2026 accessed 30 Aug 2026

Facts

A wave of Israeli settler attacks across the West Bank over the weekend left dozens of Palestinians injured and properties torched.

A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance that tried to reach the besieged families was also attacked.

Israeli police’s West Bank district, under Moshe Pinchi, made zero arrests.

Israeli forces fired tear gas during incursions into Far’a refugee camp, el-Bireh, and al-Mughayyir.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the escalation, particularly a 20-day siege on al-Mughayyir.

Soldiers also attacked journalists in Hebron’s Old City.

Two Palestinians were beaten near the Mevo Dotan settlement in Arrabeh.

Yair Lapid called the weekend rampages a moral stain and the government’s failure a national disgrace.

Central Command chief Avi Bluth warned that nationalist crime could spark a massive Palestinian response.

A 2025 EU report said Israel approved 54 new West Bank settlements in a year, up from five in 2024.

In parallel, 86 new outposts were erected and 63,311 housing units were approved.

Bezalel Smotrich declared a revolution in settlement expansion, linking construction to blocking Palestinian statehood.

Peace Now said successive governments influenced by Netanyahu have expanded settlements since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

There are now about 465,000 settlers in the West Bank and 230,000 in East Jerusalem.

OCHA recorded over 1,540 settler attacks that caused Palestinian casualties or property damage this year.

The government allocated 400 million shekels ($134m) to the Ministry of Settlement and National Missions, which authorises illegal outposts.

Thirty years ago there were about 110,000 settlers in the West Bank and 140,000 in East Jerusalem.

The government is advancing the E1 settlement project, which could sever the West Bank in two.

The government issued tenders for 1,234 homes as part of a plan for 3,401 units linking Ma’ale Adumim to East Jerusalem.

OCHA said the monthly average of these attacks is now higher than in any other year on record.

European nations and the OIC condemned recent settlement approvals including the E1 project.

Abu Amer said 28 Western nations moved quickly to defund UNRWA based on unproven Israeli allegations.

Opinion

Analysts say Netanyahu’s statements mask a state-sponsored campaign of massive settlement expansion.

Al Jazeera described the raids as pogroms.

Al Jazeera said Israeli politicians launched a coordinated campaign to minimise public-relations damage after the raids.

Al Jazeera said the public outrage contrasted sharply with the reality on the ground.

Experts told Al Jazeera the Israeli establishment’s condemnation is a calculated manoeuvre while the government engineers annexation.

Ehab Jabareen said Netanyahu is pursuing a political surgical isolation process to shield the settlement project.

Jabareen said Netanyahu presents 500,000 settlers as legitimate and a few dozen as deviants.

Jabareen said Netanyahu wants to punish or appear to punish the most blatant actors to protect the wider system.

Jabareen said Netanyahu objected because the violence obstructs the army, not because it targets Palestinians.

Jabareen said Netanyahu aims to isolate the raids from the wider settler enterprise by calling them a criminal anomaly.

Al Jazeera said few see Netanyahu’s statement as more than a response to military fears of a Palestinian uprising.

Abu Amer said the military protects settlers during attacks and punishes Palestinians who try to defend themselves.

Abu Amer said settlers would not attack without government sponsorship and cover.

Al Jazeera said the government is still systematically funding, legalising, and expanding settlers’ presence.

Jabareen said dozens of settlers create an open front that requires thousands of soldiers.

Analyst Mamoun Abu Amer dismissed the idea that the state has lost control over the settlers.

Jabareen said the army speaks to Netanyahu in the language of cost-benefit analysis.

Al Jazeera said Israel is advancing permanent annexation of Palestinian land by decoupling individual settler violence from the state machinery that arms and protects settlers.

Al Jazeera said Western responses have largely remained confined to rhetorical outrage.

Abu Amer said Western countries have not imposed meaningful economic sanctions, issuing travel bans against a few settlers instead.

Abu Amer said Western condemnations of the E1 revival have not translated into practical measures.