Jalud, Nablus District: Israeli settlers escorted by soldiers invaded the village, attacked residents, and set fire to homes and other property

On Saturday, 19 October 2024, at around 2:30 P.M., Palestinian residents burned two tires near a dirt- mound roadblock. Local residents have been afraid to access the area since settlers erected the roadblock after 7 October, and fire spread across an uncultivated area.

At around 3:00 P.M., about 25 settlers, some armed, arrived at the eastern edge of the village, escorted by four soldiers, and attacked homes there. The settlers threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the houses, smashed four windows in one, and set fire to two homes. In one, the kitchen and bedroom burned down, and in the other, the living room. The settlers also set fire to a woodpile next to another house, as well as three cars, and shot and killed two goats.

When village residents came out to defend their property, the settlers attacked them with stones and injured two: Naji ‘Abbad, 50, was struck in the face, and Mahmoud ‘Abbad, 41, sustained a head injury. The soldiers fired live rounds and threw stun grenades at the defending residents. Meanwhile, more armed settlers arrived on ATVs, and some fired live rounds at the residents.

A Border Police force that arrived at the scene fired tear gas canisters at the residents, at which point the settlers withdrew eastward without any attempt by the forces to arrest the assailants. On their way out, the settlers threw stones at more homes. They also threw stones at Mahmoud ‘Abbad, 41, as he tried to reach his house, where his wife and children were alone. He was hit in the head, managed to escape, and was taken by ambulance to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. Shortly afterward, the forces also left the area.

B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i collected testimonies from two residents the day after the incident:

Shahirah Hamud, 67, described the attack on her home:

I live with my grandson, Yasin Hamud, 14, in my house on the eastern side of Jalud, on the road that connects our village with the village of Qusrah.

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Yesterday, Saturday, 19 October 2024, at around 2:30 P.M., while I was at home, I heard people outside talking about a fire in the al-Jabal area, on the eastern side of Jalud’s farmland. I wasn’t too worried because there are no groves there and nothing to burn except dry weeds. So I stayed home, and my grandson was out. About half an hour later, I heard noise outside, looked through the window, and saw three masked settlers entering my yard, just a few meters from my front door.

Then I saw my brother-in-law’s son, Ahmad, 25, running toward the door. He came inside and shut the door. The two of us ran to the bedroom, climbed out the window, and went down a ladder I had put there, leading to my brother-in-law Hashem Hamud’s house. We went over and hid there. While we were inside, we heard sounds of smashing and destruction, and then we saw smoke rising from my house. We couldn’t do anything because the settlers were armed, and I also heard gunfire. Later, the settlers reached my brother-in-law’s house, where we were hiding, and threw stones at it. We heard windows shattering in different rooms.

Eventually, several Border Police officers arrived, and the settlers withdrew. We thought the incident was over, but it turned out that on their way out, the settlers also threw stones at houses on the hill next to our neighborhood.

After residents managed to put out the fire in my house, I went inside and found it in a catastrophic state. My grandson’s room was completely burned, even the floor tiles had come up from the heat, and the whole house was charred. They had smashed two windows in the living room, which was also scorched. That night, we couldn’t sleep at home because it was still full of smoke, so we stayed at my son’s house in Qabalan. I’m still trying to clean the house.

Samir ‘Abbad, 33, a father of two, said in a testimony he gave:

Yesterday, Saturday, 19 October 2024, at around 3:00 P.M., I was at home in the center of Jalud when my brother Muhammad ‘Abbad, 24, called and told me that settlers were attacking homes near the road between Jalud and Qusrah.

I went there and saw about 25 settlers attacking houses with stones in the presence of four soldiers. I saw some of the settlers attacking my 35-year-old brother Salam ‘Abbad’s house, which is still under construction, and vandalizing the wire fence of a chicken coop next to the house. They went into the coop and tried to set it on fire but didn’t succeed. I tried to approach with other residents to defend our property, but the soldiers fired live rounds and stun grenades at us.

Meanwhile, the settlers set fire to three cars belonging to my three brothers. After that, they threw flammable materials on three houses and set them on fire. At that point, more settlers arrived, aimed their guns at us, and some fired live rounds whenever we tried to approach the houses. We felt we were going to die.

Then, about 10 to 12 Border Police officers arrived, fired tear gas canisters at the residents, and the settlers withdrew towards the east, where they attacked more homes. I couldn’t get there, but later I found out that the settlers attacked my brother Mahmoud ‘Abbad, 41, with a stone, and injured his head while he was trying to reach his house, where his wife and children were alone. He managed to escape the settlers despite bleeding from his head, and was then evacuated by ambulance from the village of Qaryut to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus.