Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening excoriated a handful of Jewish “rioters who are violating the law” and who he said committed “criminal acts of violence” against Palestinians in central Samaria.
Netanyahu was responding to an incident in the area of the Palestinian villages of Qusra and Jalud. Israel Defense Forces troops and Border Police forces rushed to the scene following a report of Israelis hurling rocks at Palestinians, according to the military.
“Upon their arrival, the security forces identified dozens of rioters who had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while residents were inside,” the IDF said.
The Red Crescent evacuated a Palestinian woman “who sustained non-life-threatening injuries” to receive medical treatment, the army continued.
The forces separated the groups by removing the rioters from the house, with the aim of protecting the residents, the IDF added.
Netanyahu said the suspects are “causing a grave injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community, interfering with the IDF in carrying out its missions and harming Israel’s standing in the world.”
He further noted that Israeli security forces acted swiftly in dealing with the suspects, confiscating three vehicles and bringing the incident to an end within a short time. “I expect law enforcement authorities to arrest the rioters and bring them to justice as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said, adding that the IDF, Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police are conducting a “vigorous investigation” on the ground.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a separate statement denounced what he described as “the grave acts of violence in Qusra.
“This is a direct and flagrant defiance of the laws and values of the State of Israel. It is also another incident in a disturbing sequence of events that casts a stain on Israel’s image and demands firm and decisive action,” Herzog stated.
The president backed the IDF, “which is doing everything in its power to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.” He added, “The government, security agencies, judicial authorities and law-enforcement bodies must act now, using every available means and in full coordination, to root out this unacceptable phenomenon and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The Binyamin Regional Council, which administers Jewish communities in southern Samaria, on Saturday night condemned “the violence carried out by Israelis during the incidents” and called on authorities to “investigate anyone involved.”
Council head Yisrael Ganz noted, “According to the Israelis, they had gone on a tour of the area when they were attacked with rocks and clubs by dozens of Arabs from Qusra,” adding that video footage showed the incident started with Palestinian violence.
“During the incident, the confrontation escalated and included rock-throwing by both sides,” stated Ganz. “The Binyamin Regional Council calls on security forces to investigate the Arab rioters who were documented hurling rocks at Israelis and ensure that they are brought to justice.”
R., an Israeli resident of Tel Talpiot Hill who was present during the clashes between Arabs and Jews in Qusra on Saturday, told TPS-IL that the confrontation began while he and others were patrolling an area where they graze livestock.
“The incident began when we went out on a patrol of the area where we herd. Suddenly, we saw some Arabs near the spring, in a construction site where no one has been hanging around for about a year, and we knew they were going to use the area to create provocations,” he said.
“We then noticed three Arabs on the roof. We understood that they were looking to provoke us, so we drove past in the Ranger toward the spring. As we approached, the three Arabs on the roof began shouting and throwing stones at us.”
R. said the Israelis stopped before seeing a larger group approaching from the direction of the village.
“We stopped there, and suddenly about 40 Arabs appeared to our west, underneath the construction site. They started running toward us, so we turned around and fled in the Ranger. Then they began advancing on us and throwing firecrackers. More and more people started pouring out of the village. In the end, around 300 Arabs came from different directions, basically from all sides of the village.”
“They were throwing stones and firecrackers. There were huge numbers of people coming toward us,” he said.
According to R., the Israelis called for assistance.
“Then the IDF arrived. At the same time, we called for help and brought in many more of our people to assist us, because the army had not arrived at first and we were the ones dealing with it,” he said.
“As soon as the army arrived, they decided to keep all of our people farther back. From there, a confrontation developed between the Arab crowd and the army. There were around 300 Arabs here.”
Israeli residents of the area accused the media and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit of distorting the incident and using the Sabbath to portray Jewish residents negatively.
They also pointed to several similar incidents that took place on Saturday in the nearby villages of Jalud and Al-Mu’ayr.
Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO this month.
Twenty-four Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2025, and more than 400 others were wounded, the NGO said in its annual report.
The data, which were cross-checked against official data from the Jewish state’s security agencies, included 3,299 instances of rock-throwing, 458 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 655 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 286 explosive charges and 19 terrorist shooting assaults.
