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Netanyahu condemns ‘violent riots’ by Israelis in Samaria

A ‘handful’ of rioters did not represent most Israelis in Judea and Samaria, said the prime minister.

Palestinians inspect burned-out cars following a suspected attack by Israelis in the village of Jalud near Ariel in Samaria, Aug. 4, 2026. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
Palestinians inspect burned-out cars following a riot by Israelis in the village of Jalud near Ariel in Samaria, Aug. 4, 2026. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday condemned what he called violent rioting by Israelis in the area of the Palestinian village of Jalud, which left three security forces personnel lightly injured on Monday night.

“I strongly condemn the violent riots last night in the Samaria region and the harm inflicted on the security forces who arrived at the scene to maintain law and order,” read a statement by Netanyahu posted on the Prime Minister’s Office official X account about the Jalud incident.

“The handful of rioters does not represent the law-abiding settler community in Judea and Samaria, does them a grave injustice, and hinders our forces in fulfilling their mission. I stand behind the IDF and Border Police fighters who are working to thwart terrorism and safeguard security, and I call on law enforcement authorities to apply the full severity of the law against the rioters,” the statement continued.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the alleged rioters, whose “violence stands in profound contradiction to Jewish values, he wrote on X Tuesday.

The clash, which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also blamed on Israeli rioters, resulted in minor injuries to Israel Border Police officers, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit wrote on X. The officers were defending Jalud residents from rioters, who “blocked roads, set tires ablaze, and threw stones at security forces” at the scene, according to the IDF.

The100-odd rioters also torched Palestinian structures, vehicles and other property, according to the IDF.

IDF soldiers and Border Police officers arrived at the scene to disperse the rioters and help coordinate the return of a Palestinian family to Jalud, situated about nine miles east of Ariel, after its members were “forced to abandon [it] following several nationalist crime incidents against them,” the military said. The family had to leave due to “several nationalist crimes” perpetrated against them, the IDF said. The family was not returned due to the violence on Monday night.

Security forces dispersed the rioters and arrested two suspects. An investigation into the incident was launched, the IDF continued.

“The defense establishment strongly condemns any harm to security personnel during the performance of their duties, acts of vandalism, and damage to property. Incidents of this kind divert attention, undermine stability, and impair the defensive and preventive activities of the security forces,” the army’s statement read.

In his statement, Sa’ar wrote: “Anyone who commits these criminal offenses and assaults Border Police fighters and IDF soldiers, and even harms them, are criminals who must be dealt with to the full severity of the law. They harm our values. They harm Jewish settlement,” he said, referencing Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria “They harm Israel,” Sa’ar added. He called for “a thorough and comprehensive investigation in order to bring the rioters to justice.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X that “the severe violence perpetrated by rioters in the dead of night in the village of Jalud is a most egregious act, which must be addressed with the full severity of the law” and “a moral stain, an assault on the rule of law and our most fundamental values as a people and a nation.” Assaults on security personnel “can have no justification whatsoever,” he added.

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