More than 100 Israeli rioters clashed with IDF soldiers and Border Police officers near the Palestinian villages of Jalud and Kusra overnight Monday as security forces attempted to return a Palestinian family to its home, the IDF said.
Three Border Police officers were lightly wounded in the clashes, and a security forces vehicle was damaged.
The return had been coordinated after the family was forced to leave its home following several incidents of nationalist crime against it, according to the IDF. Due to the violence at the scene, the mission to return the family was not completed.
The rioters blocked roads, set tires on fire, and hurled rocks at security forces. They also set fire to Palestinian-owned structures, vehicles, and other property in the area, the IDF said.
According to IDF reserve officers, the incident ended at around 2:30 a.m. Three troops were wounded after stones were thrown at them. In addition, settlers set fire to a Palestinian vehicle and home in the area.
IDF reinforces West Bank presence amid rising tensions
The overnight incident in the village came amid growing tensions in the West Bank. Against the backdrop of violent friction between Israelis and Palestinians and security officials' concerns over a wave of lone-wolf terrorism and organized terrorist infrastructure, the IDF reinforced its Judea and Samaria Division to a total of about 25 battalions.
In addition, a divisional headquarters responsible for the Judea and Etzion regional brigades was moved to the area, where tens of thousands of Israeli hikers had arrived on Monday.
"IDF troops, Border Police and Israel Police reinforced the roads, hiking areas, known friction points and communities," a military source in the Central Command said.
"There is clear tension, and it is strongly felt on the ground. Several situation assessments were conducted throughout the day, with ongoing updates from the field to the headquarters," the source added.
Situation on the ground remains volatile
Despite the reinforcements, military officials warned that the situation on the ground remained highly volatile. One of them told Walla, "All that's missing is a friction incident between Palestinians and Israelis that spirals, is captured on video and ignites the area."
A series of nationalist crimes by far-right activists against Palestinians was also recorded across the West Bank over the weekend, particularly in the Binyamin Regional Brigade's sector. The most common pattern involved damage to property and the spraying of graffiti overnight.
In addition to sporadic local confrontations involving stone-throwing, several incidents involving groups of masked Israelis were also recorded.
The most prominent incident occurred in the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir. Settlers entered the area claiming they were grazing sheep. Shortly afterward, reports were received of masked individuals smashing the windows of vehicles and homes.
Israelis, Palestinians clash in West Bank
On Thursday, the Ephraim Regional Brigade received a report of a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the area of the Ammurya outpost, during which a vehicle rolled into a ditch.
The Judea Regional Brigade also received a report of a Palestinian vehicle being set on fire. In the Binyamin sector, reports were received in the early morning hours of vehicles being torched and Hebrew graffiti being sprayed in the village of Attara.
Another report said that 14 settlers broke into the yard of a Palestinian home in the village of Abu Falah and smashed the windows of a vehicle there.
Also on Thursday, a Palestinian woman complained that she had been attacked in the evening while stuck in traffic at Rimonim Junction, where a settler threw a stone at her, as seen in footage she uploaded to social media.
On Sunday, Palestinians claimed that several Israelis attacked the Naif al-Ka'abneh community near Ramallah, east of Taybeh. According to reports, the Israelis smashed the windows of Palestinian homes and vehicles. Palestinian reports further claimed that the Israeli attackers stole NIS 3,000 from Palestinians at the scene.
Later that same night, between Sunday and Monday, Israelis arrived at two separate locations in Deir Abu Mash'al, where they set vehicles on fire, sprayed graffiti, and damaged property.