Police arrest four suspects over Jalud arson attack as state tells court repairs will take months

Israel Police announced Wednesday that four suspects had been arrested over the September attack that prevented a Palestinian family from returning to its homes in Jalud, south of Nablus, as the state told the High Court of Justice that repairing the family's burned houses would require about three months of work.

The immediate challenge is to prevent renewed Israeli takeovers of the homes and surrounding area while enabling the families to repair the damage. The state says security forces will carry out repeated enforcement operations and patrols to keep Israelis from establishing themselves there and provide protection for the repairs and the residents' eventual return.

The case dates back to April, when Israeli settler extremists established an unauthorized outpost known as Givat Hatzmabarim beside the homes. According to the petition, its establishment was followed by months of threats, stone-throwing, blocked access roads, and damage to water infrastructure and property. The High Court said the state largely did not dispute the sequence of events.On July 22, two members of the Tubasi family and their households were forced to leave after what the court described as a prolonged de facto siege.

Intruders subsequently occupied the houses and used Tawfiq Shweiki's nearby home. Military operations to remove them failed to secure the residents' return.

The residents petitioned in August. On September 6, the court ordered authorities to arrange their return within 14 days, provide protection, and allow repairs. The attempted return on September 28-29 of members of the Tubasi family to their homes in the West Bank village turned violent after more than 100 Israeli extremists attacked the forces, and the family's two houses were burned. Three Border Police officers were injured, and the family was evacuated.Some suspects released under restrictive conditions, others remain in custodyA third house, belonging to Shweiki, burned on October 24, after Israeli settlers had been staying there.

The IDF said troops had arrived to evacuate Israelis when a fire broke out, and that its cause was under investigation. At a subsequent High Court hearing, the petitioners' lawyer, Ghiath Nasser, said he did not know who had burned the house. Two of the suspects, teenagers aged 16 and 17 from Jerusalem and Netivot, were brought before the Jerusalem District Court and released under restrictive conditions, including a 60-day order to stay away from the area, police said.

The other suspects, residents of the northern West Bank aged 21 and 25, remained in custody and were due to be brought before a judge, according to Wednesday's police announcement.

The investigation into the violence, attacks on security forces and arson is being conducted by an interagency command in the police's Judea and Samaria District together with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Police said investigators collected evidence at the scene and took witness statements before carrying out further investigative work.Separately, in an update filed Tuesday, the state said a representative of the Tubasi family, a Palestinian liaison representative, an engineer, and IDF representatives visited the houses on Monday to examine the damage.

The military delegation included a Civil Administration representative.A detailed damage assessment was expected to reach the Civil Administration liaison office in the coming days. The preliminary estimate was that about three months of work would be needed to make the houses habitable, the state said. Professionals had not yet entered the nearby home of Shweiki to assess its damage, the state added, saying that the inspection was expected soon.Israelis removed using crowd-control measures, IDF took enforcement actionEven during Monday's assessment, several Israelis were present in the area and were removed using crowd-control measures, according to the update.

Forces also took enforcement action against a tarp tent found there.

The state said a divisional plan had been drawn up for the Shomron Regional Brigade to secure the residents' return. It includes repeated enforcement operations to prevent Israelis from establishing a presence in the area, alongside mobile patrols operating at varying times during the day and night.

The residents would return under security escort once repairs were completed. Forces would maintain an intermittent presence around the time of their return, according to operational assessments and changing security needs.

The state said troops were already prepared to facilitate continued access for professionals carrying out repairs. Additional elements of the plan were submitted confidentially for the court's review.

The update followed an October 29 order requiring protected access for damage assessments and repairs, and an explanation of how authorities would ensure a safe, sustainable return.