Israeli Settlers Seize Palestinian’s Dream Home in West Bank

Palestinian Mohammad Salameh was constructing a home for his family in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His recently engaged son was meant to start married life here. However, before construction was complete, a group of Israeli settlers seized the property.

A video filmed earlier this week and verified by Reuters showed at least six settlers moving around on the roof of the two-storey house, which sits below a nearby hill. Salameh appealed to the Israeli military and police for help but received none.

Now, he fears his home is lost forever as it’s surrounded by Israeli settlements and smaller outposts common in Palestinian territory. Other houses in the area could suffer the same fate, he said.

“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 was unable to reach the settlers for comment. One of them could be seen walking on the house’s roof on Thursday.

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.

Settling in the West Bank is a longstanding feature of life, where about 500,000 Israelis live among roughly 3 million Palestinians. Palestinians have long reported damage to farmland, vandalism and attacks linked to settlement expansion.

A UN inquiry last month reported that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land had surged since 2023, rising by 130%.

Residents of Jalud, Salameh’s village, say this week’s incident marks another troubling escalation. The settlers seized a house that was still under construction.

“Raed al-Haj Mohammad,” head of the village council, said, “They have now moved down to within no more than 100 meters from the last house in Jalud, which is also a house under construction belonging to a resident.”

Jalud has faced five major settler attacks, including the burning of homes, damage to vehicles and uprooting of trees.

Most countries and the United Nations regard Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law. Israel rejects this position, saying the West Bank is disputed territory where there has been a Jewish presence for thousands of years. Palestinians consider the West Bank, together with Gaza and East Jerusalem, part of a Palestinian state.

Settlement building and settler violence have long been among the biggest obstacles to peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. Even Israel’s staunchest allies, including the United States, have condemned settler actions.

Nevertheless, settlement expansion has accelerated under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which relies on hardline pro-settlement parties to maintain its parliamentary majority.

For Salameh, the dispute is painfully personal. Construction stalled after the Gaza war erupted in 2023 when his son could not find work and the family’s finances came under strain.