Court orders Palestinian families back to Jalud homes after extremist settlers drove them out

Israel’s High Court of Justice has ordered authorities to arrange the return of three Palestinian petitioners and their families to their homes in the West Bank village of Jalud within 14 days.

The families were driven out after months of nationalist violence by Israeli extremists. Their homes were left open to repeated takeover. The court ordered the IDF and police to protect the families as they return and allow them to bring supplies needed to repair the houses and restore water and electricity.

The authorities must update the court by September 22. The justices also issued a conditional order requiring the state to explain why it had not restored the residents to their homes or removed barriers from the access roads. The state must submit a sworn response by October 8.

The ruling goes beyond the state’s general promise to coordinate the families’ return. It demands concrete action and detailed answers about investigations that, according to the article, have produced few visible results. The court said the state largely did not dispute the central sequence of events.