Netanyahu condemns West Bank settler attacks after residents and journalists injured in Qusra and Jalud

Attacks in Qusra and Jalud

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers launched coordinated attacks on Saturday, 29 August 2026, targeting Palestinian homes in the northern West Bank village of Qusra and nearby Jalud. In Qusra, militants surrounded a property under construction owned by Luay Bayrudi, trapping seven Palestinian residents inside for more than an hour while hurling stones. Saddam Oday, a medic inside the building, reported that four people suffered injuries from tear gas inhalation and two were hurt by stones thrown by settlers. Bayrudi sustained an arm injury and stated that arriving Israeli soldiers handcuffed, blindfolded, and beat the occupants before releasing them. Oday added that troops permitted the attacking settlers to disperse freely while detaining the occupants. The Israeli military said forces arrived to remove rioters and protect those inside.

Physical assaults and kidnapping

The violence on Saturday spanned several West Bank localities and affected foreign nationals as well as Palestinian civilians. In Jalud, four masked assailants exited a vehicle with Israeli licence plates to attack an NBC news crew and 51-year-old resident Aida Ahmed Abdullah with sticks and stones during an on-camera interview. In the southern West Bank, British citizen Finn Joughlin was kidnapped while conducting protective presence monitoring aimed at shielding residents from recurring harassment. Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American resident of Qusra whose nearby home was besieged by settlers earlier in August, observed Saturday's attack and reported near-daily settler incursions despite the heavy deployment of Israeli forces.

Rare rebuke from Netanyahu

Following the assaults, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a formal condemnation of the violence, describing the perpetrators as a disruptive fringe.

I strongly condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Qusra and Jalud by a handful of rioters who violate the law, cause harm to law-abiding settlers, prevent the military from fulfilling its missions, and harm Israel's standing in the world.

Public criticism of settlers by Netanyahu is rare. His government approved the expansion of settler outposts in late July and accelerated plans to legalise unauthorised settlements, all of which violate international law. A United Nations commission of inquiry previously reported state complicity in settler violence, noting that security agencies provide armed protection while judicial authorities maintain a climate of impunity.

Political fallout and upcoming election

Israeli opposition figures swiftly challenged the sincerity of the prime minister's statement. Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from The Democrats, dismissed the reprimand as political subterfuge, alleging that settler groups operate as political instruments to generate unrest ahead of the national vote. The political confrontation coincides with an intensifying campaign for the parliamentary election scheduled for 27 October 2026. Current opinion surveys show that neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the opposition bloc holds a clear majority. Netanyahu's primary challenger, former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, previously served as a member of the cross-party war cabinet from October 2023 until his departure.