Settlers Return to Torched Palestinian Home Under IDF Watch — Haaretz Investigation Documents IDF Inaction

A major Haaretz investigation published on May 2, 2026 documented how Israeli settlers repeatedly returned to a Palestinian family's home in the West Bank — which they had previously torched — while Israeli army soldiers stood watch without intervening. The investigation detailed a systematic pattern: settlers attacked, soldiers observed, then soldiers departed while settlers remained or returned. The piece came amid IDF Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Bluth's warning the previous day calling such violence 'Jewish terror.' According to the investigation, the affected family had been driven from their home after repeated arson and harassment, consistent with the broader pattern documented by B'Tselem: over 59 communities depopulated in 2026, 2,500+ displaced from settler attacks. Human rights monitors told Haaretz that the documented IDF inaction — and in some cases facilitation — represents a shift from passive non-intervention toward active protection of settlers who commit violence. Only 2–3% of settler violence cases result in conviction according to Yesh Din data. The investigation appeared on the same day as growing international pressure over the flotilla interception, with Spain formally demanding the release of a detained Spanish activist from Israeli custody.