Settlers seize Palestinian family’s under construction dream home in West Bank village

RAMALLAH: Israeli settlers have taken over an unfinished Palestinian family home in the occupied West Bank village of Jalud, according to Reuters, in what residents described as a further escalation in pressure on the area.

Mohammad Salameh said the two-storey house was being built for his family and was intended to become the home where his recently engaged son would begin married life. Before construction was completed, however, a group of settlers occupied the property. Video filmed earlier this week and verified by Reuters showed at least six settlers on the roof of the house, which stands below a nearby hill.

Salameh said his appeals to the Israeli military and police did not bring assistance. He said he now fears the property may be gone for good and warned that other homes in the area, which is surrounded by Israeli settlements and smaller outposts, could face the same outcome.

"Only God knows, if there is law and order then they will leave. If they succeed in taking one, then the rest will follow," Salameh said, speaking to Reuters.

Residents cite worsening pressure in Jalud

Reuters reported it was unable to reach the settlers for comment. One settler was seen walking on the roof of the house on Thursday. The Israeli military said it was checking Reuters’ request for comment but had not responded by Friday. Israeli police also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Residents of Jalud said the latest episode was especially alarming because the structure seized by settlers was still under construction. Raed al-Haj Mohammad, who heads the village council, said the settlers had advanced to within around 100 metres of the village’s last house, which is itself an unfinished home belonging to a resident.

He said Jalud had already experienced five major settler attacks, including the burning of houses, damage to vehicles and the uprooting of trees.

Settlements remain central point of dispute

The taking of Palestinian land by settlers has long been part of life in the West Bank, where about 500,000 Israelis live among roughly three million Palestinians. Palestinians have for years reported harm to farmland, vandalism and attacks linked to settlement growth.

A United Nations inquiry said last month that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land had increased sharply since 2023, rising by 130 per cent.

Most countries and the United Nations consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention’s ban on transferring a civilian population into occupied territory. Israel rejects that interpretation and says the West Bank is disputed territory with a Jewish presence stretching back thousands of years.

Settlement construction and settler violence have long been among the main barriers to peace efforts in Palestine. Settlement expansion has quickened under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which depends on hardline pro-settlement parties for its parliamentary majority, despite condemnation of settler actions from even Israel’s close allies, including the United States.

For Salameh, the issue is also tied to the family’s financial hardship. Construction on the house stopped after Israel’s assault on Gaza began in 2023, when his son was unable to find work and the family’s economic situation deteriorated. Salameh said a nearby resident had also built a two-storey house and feared it too could be seized.