The rumor turned into riots: How one fire reignited the northern West Bank | Ran Edelist
The fire at Havat Gilad was investigated and no findings of arson were discovered, but settler harassment of Palestinian villages continued.
About two weeks ago, a fire broke out in the outpost of Havat Gilad. The farm was established about 25 years ago, and most of its lands are private. One of the dozens of plots on which the outpost sits is registered in the name of the Zar family, whose son was murdered near the outpost established in his name.
In September 2025, the Civil Administration declared 445 dunams in the vicinity of Havat Gilad as state lands. The only way to legalize the outpost is through land seizure, contrary to the positions of most Israeli governments and legal advisors to date. In 2017, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit permitted the expropriation of land for the benefit of settlements in several places. However, a full legalization process of Havat Gilad by the government would involve land seizure on a much larger scale.
Repeated attempts by the IDF over the years to dismantle the outpost by force were unsuccessful. The farm was established and positioned as an ideological-strategic part of the plan to prevent a Palestinian state. Being wedged between Palestinian villages, it prevents the territorial contiguity of the future Palestinian state – the establishment of which is a solution agreed upon globally.
The recent fire consumed 18 houses in Havat Gilad. Following a rumor of arson, the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani was attacked, a mosque was set on fire, and vehicles were burned. The fire at Havat Gilad was investigated and no findings of intentional arson were discovered, but settler harassment of Palestinian villages continued. In one instance, during a "hike" by settlers in the Palestinian village of Tel, a weapon was snatched, and in the ensuing confrontation, two Israelis and four Palestinians were killed.
One of the residents of Havat Gilad said later in a report for the British BBC network that all Palestinian residents in the four nearby villages should be killed, as the life of one Jew is worth the lives of ten million Palestinians. When the reporter remarked that this was a racist comment, the settler replied:
"Yes, I know. But that is the truth, because God chose us."
Parallel to the riots surrounding the non-existent arson, the Minister of Defense jumped on the bandwagon and declared that in light of the "Palestinian terror that is trying to raise its head again," he has instructed the IDF to prepare for the occupation of one or more of the refugee camps in the northern West Bank, in accordance with the "model" implemented in the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams at the beginning of 2025.
Following the fire at Havat Gilad, there was a pilgrimage there by Israelis whose hearts were moved, in the style of "hurry brothers, hurry, the town is burning." Moshe Radman dared to hint that Palestinians were harmed in the settlers' retaliatory riots, but his own friends caused him to perform a political flip-flop for election purposes. That is not how you build a wall.
