Netanyahu orders major Nablus operation and faster legalization of West Bank outposts

A deadly clash near the West Bank village of Tell on July 24, 2026, leaves four Palestinian cousins and two Israelis, including Major Yuval Ezra, dead. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a sweeping military operation, curfews, and the accelerated legalization of unauthorized settlement outposts. Meanwhile, hardline ministers call for clearing Palestinian villages, and armed settlers launch violent retaliatory raids across Nablus-area towns like Faraata, setting fire to homes and cars.

West Bank clashes near Nablus

• ▪The two Israelis killed in the Tell confrontation were identified as Benayahu Mellet, a 32-year-old security guard from the Havat Gilad settlement, and Major Yuval Ezra, a 27-year-old battery commander.
• ▪The four Palestinians killed in the Tell confrontation were cousins from the same family, identified as Farouk, Ibrahim, Jawad, and Imran Ramadan.
• ▪Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed on July 24, 2026, during a confrontation near the West Bank village of Tell, southwest of Nablus.

IDF troop reinforcement operation

• ▪The Israel Defense Forces decided to withdraw troops from Gaza and Lebanon to redeploy them to protect 126 outposts in the West Bank.
• ▪Israeli forces conducted a targeted operation at a hospital in Nablus, arresting two wounded Palestinians who had been evacuated from the Tell clashes.
• ▪The Israeli military announced an extensive counterterrorism operation in the West Bank, imposing curfews on Tell and Burin, and surrounding Nablus.

Settlement outpost legalization policy

• ▪Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the evacuation and demolition of Palestinian villages near Tell to establish security.
• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to accelerate the legalization of unauthorized West Bank farm outposts and establish new ones.

Palestinian security committees formation

• ▪The Israeli military expressed concern that upcoming Palestinian elections could further increase tensions in the West Bank.
• ▪Israeli military officials expressed concern over the formation of 70 Palestinian security committees established to protect residents from settler violence.

Settler retaliatory violence attacks

• ▪Israeli settlers launched retaliatory attacks on at least five Palestinian villages surrounding Nablus, including Jit, Burin, and Faraata.
• ▪In Faraata, Israeli settlers injured eight people, set fire to homes and vehicles, and uprooted an olive field using bulldozers.