On the morning of July 24, more than 20 Israeli settlers from the illegal Havat Gilad outpost attacked Palestinian homes on the eastern edge of Tal, southwest of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Residents initially drove them back, but the settlers returned shortly afterwards with Israeli soldiers. Videos appear to show a Palestinian man seizing a settler’s rifle and shooting him dead before soldiers shoot the man dead. Four Palestinians from the Ramadan family, one settler, and one Israeli soldier were killed.
In the days since, retaliation from Israeli forces and settlers has been overwhelming, with the occupied West Bank gripped by armed attacks, raids, demolitions, road closures, and arson. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “wide-scale military operation,” including demolishing the alleged Palestinian attacker’s home, revoking work permits in villages he called “terror hotspots,” and accelerating the “regularisation” of illegal outposts. Finance Minister Smotrich promised an “iron fist,” while National Security Minister Ben-Gvir said every West Bank village should share the fate of Beit Hanoon in Gaza.
By the weekend, 26 Israeli army battalions were deployed across the West Bank. Nightly raids in Tal continued, with 30-50 residents arrested and 70 homes searched. Operations also took place in Jenin, Tubas, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarem, and occupied East Jerusalem. In Nablus, Israeli forces stormed a hospital, handcuffing doctors and nurses before detaining a wounded patient. Four new illegal outposts appeared overnight near Tal and neighboring villages. A total of 42 illegal outposts have been built in the first half of 2026.
In Sarra, settlers burned six homes and five vehicles and beat three villagers. In Farata, they set fire to a woodworking shop, two homes, and farmland, wounding five. In Qusra, a mosque under construction was set on fire with Hebrew graffiti reading “revenge for Benayahu.” In Kour, a mosque was defaced with racist slogans. In Urif, a two-month-old infant survived an arson attack on her home only because her grandfather pulled her from her crib. In Awarta, a six-month-pregnant woman lost her child after soldiers prevented her from passing a closed gate.
Israeli forces sealed roads across the northern West Bank, closing entrances and setting up checkpoints. Land seizure orders were issued to uproot olive trees and seize land in Jenin and Tubas. Deaths tied to settler attacks in 2026 reached 18 before the Tal killings, already exceeding all of 2025. In Gaza, the death toll since the October 2025 “ceasefire” reached 1,203. Israel’s “Yellow Line” advanced, and an earthen barrier is being built across the Strip.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. The World Food Programme warned of deeper cuts without urgent funding. 67% of the population faces crisis levels of food insecurity. Nearly 4,000 miscarriages were recorded in the first half of 2026. The closure of the Zikim crossing has cut aid trucks by a third. The Israeli government approved the entry of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) into Gaza, but no timeline has been set. The ISF will consist of about 200 people from “friendly countries such as Uganda and Morocco.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com