Settler extremists said to torch vehicles, cut electrical lines in West Bank raids

Israeli settler extremists raided several Palestinian villages in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank late Monday night, local media reported Tuesday, setting fire to cars, spray-painting political messages on residential buildings, and damaging a village’s electrical grid.

According to Palestinian media, around a dozen settlers arrived in area of the villages of Talfit and Jalud, just south of Nablus, and set fire to three vehicles, all of which were damaged beyond repair.

According to local Palestinian activist Bashar al-Qaryouti speaking to the WAFA news agency, settlers also attempted to set fire to a residential building, but were stopped by residents.

According to the reports, the settlers spray-painted graffiti reading “Revenge” and “Avi, go home,” apparently referring to Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth. Bluth has incurred the wrath of the far right for his call to crack down on settler extremists, as well as for what activists claim is his lackluster response to Palestinian terror. On Sunday night, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on live TV that he was replacing him, only to walk the move back on Monday after harsh backlash, including from Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu.

صورة| مسـ.tـوطنون يخطون شعارات معادية خلال هجومهم على قرية جالود جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/5ID4J9DZbb

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) August 4, 2026

The WAFA news agency also said early Tuesday that settlers caused damage to the electrical grid in the nearby town of Madama during a separate attack.

According to Madama’s council head Rami Nassar, the attackers arrived from a nearby, newly erected illegal outpost, located between Madama, Beita, and Tell, the village where a deadly shooting incident took place late last month, which left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead. In the wake of the incident, settlers have reportedly erected at least four new outposts in the area.

Nassar said the settlers cut down the village’s electrical poles for the second time in a week, damaging the grid and leaving homes without electricity in several areas of the village.

No injuries were reported as a result of the overnight attacks.

????صورة| مستوطنون يدمرون أعمدة كهرباء في أراضي قرية مادما جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/3lu2Oej3VJ

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) August 2, 2026

Settler violence has mounted in recent months, with near-daily attacks taking place throughout the West Bank but few suspected assailants are arrested and charged. Critics accuse the government of condoning or even encouraging the attacks.

Shin Bet figures from earlier this year found that three times more Palestinians were victims of nationalistic attacks in the West Bank than Jews.

The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, up from 682 incidents in 2024.

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