Police arrest four suspects over Jalud arson attack as state tells court repairs will take months

Israel Police announced Wednesday that four suspects had been arrested over the September attack that prevented a Palestinian family from returning to its homes in Jalud, south of Nablus, as the state told the High Court of Justice that repairing the family's burned houses would require about three months of work.The immediate challenge is to prevent renewed Israeli takeovers of the homes and surrounding area while enabling the families to repair the damage. The state says security forces will carry out repeated enforcement operations and patrols to keep Israelis from establishing themselves there and provide protection for the repairs and the residents' eventual return.The case dates back to April, when Israeli settler extremists established an unauthorized outpost known as Givat Hatzmabarim beside the homes. According to the petition, its establishment was followed by months of threats, stone-throwing, blocked access roads, and damage to water infrastructure and property. The High Court said the state largely did not dispute the sequence of events.On July 22, two members of the Tubasi family and their households were forced to leave after what the court described as a prolonged de facto siege. Intruders subsequently occupied the houses and used Tawfiq Shweiki's nearby home. Military operations to remove them failed to secure the residents' return.The residents petitioned in August.