Jalud, West Bank. Palestinian resident Mohammad Salameh said Israeli settlers seized his unfinished family home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Jalud before construction was complete. Reuters said video filmed earlier in the week and verified by the news agency showed at least six settlers moving around on the roof of the two-storey house.
Seizure of unfinished home
Salameh said the house was being built for his family and was intended to be the place where his recently engaged son would begin married life.
He said appeals to the Israeli military and police brought no help. Salameh said he now fears the home is lost forever and warned that other houses in the area could face the same fate.
“Only God knows, if there is law and order then they will leave,” Salameh said. “If they succeeded with taking one, then the rest will follow.”
Reuters said one of the settlers could be seen walking on the house’s roof on Thursday.
Requests for comment
Reuters said it was unable to reach the settlers for comment.
The Israeli military said it was checking Reuters’ request for comment but had not responded by Friday. The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wider settlement concerns
The seizure of Palestinian land by settlers is a longstanding feature of life in the West Bank, where about 500,000 Israelis live among roughly 3 million Palestinians.
According to the article, Palestinians have for years reported damage to farmland, vandalism and attacks linked to settlement expansion.
A U.N. inquiry reported last month that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land had surged since 2023, rising by 130%.
Residents of Jalud said this week’s incident marked another escalation because the settlers seized a house that was still under construction.
