IDF, police arrest Israeli civilian suspected of settler attack that injured teen

Footage shows 14-year-old boy beaten, pepper-sprayed in West Bank village of Jalud; police also arrest 2 more linked to major settler attack last month that injured dozens

IDF soldiers operate during a raid on a cafe in the West Bank city of Nablus, April 23, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/ Flash90)
Illustration: IDF soldiers operate during a raid on a cafe in the West Bank city of Nablus, April 23, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The IDF and Israel Police on Monday arrested an Israeli civilian suspected of carrying out a settler attack in Jalud in the northern West Bank earlier in the day that injured a Palestinian teenager.

Palestinian media reported that settlers had arrived at the outskirts of the village of Jalud in the Nablus area, set fire to a structure, and assaulted and injured a 14-year-old boy.

Other footage from the scene appeared to show stone-throwing between Palestinians and settlers after the settlers arrived, as well as settlers throwing stones near a home on the edge of the village.

The IDF later said that “forces were dispatched following a report that several Israeli civilians had set fire to a structure, and that dozens of additional civilians had gathered in the area. As a result, a Palestinian was injured and evacuated for medical treatment.”

It added that troops “acted to disperse the gathering using crowd control measures, questioned the civilians at the scene, and detained an Israeli civilian, who will be transferred for further handling by Israel Police.”

Police then confirmed, in response to a query by The Times of Israel, that an Israeli civilian was indeed transferred into their custody and arrested.

Police added that investigators are preparing to enter the scene, accompanied by IDF forces, to collect testimonies, evidence, and findings, and that the investigation is ongoing.

 

Settler attacks take place on a near-daily basis in the West Bank, and have accelerated during the war with Iran that began on February 28 and entered a truce on April 8. During that time, the left-wing Yesh Din human rights organization recorded 378 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank.

Eight Palestinians were shot and killed, and 200 were injured during that time, the organization said.

 

Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the phenomenon, or of indulging those behind such attacks, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years.

Arrests in such cases are rare, and convictions are even less common, though these attacks take place on a daily basis.

Palestinians stand at the scene where vehicles and a home were set on fire following an attack by extremist Jewish settlers in the village of Beit Amrin, west of Nablus, in the West Bank, April 22, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/ Flash90)

Meanwhile, police on Monday announced the arrest of two additional people suspected of partaking in a settler attack last month on Khirbet Humsa, a Palestinian village in the West Bank.

The pair, Jerusalem residents aged 18 and 22, were caught while on the run, police said. They are suspected of having committed serious violent crimes, robbery, and indecent acts against village residents.

They are two of 15 suspects who have been arrested so far in connection to the attack, which took place in the northern Jordan Valley.

According to police, the attackers entered the village before dawn, restrained the residents, and beat them violently.

One of those attacked, 29-year-old Qusai Abu al-Kebash, told The New York Times that assailants stripped him, zip-tied his genitals, and paraded him around the village.

Police said in a March statement that rioters also damaged and stole villagers’ property, including a large number of sheep used as livestock. Several residents sustained injuries, including four who required medical treatment.

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