Extremist Settlers Attack Israeli Soldiers in West Bank
Six Israeli Border Police officers were hurt after clashes between Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.
Hundreds of supporters of the settlement located deep in the West Bank near Nablus rallied to the settlement late Tuesday night after Israeli security forces arrived to demolish several illegal structures. Two of the structures had people living in them and at least two others were under construction. One structure was confiscated.
The rioting settlers threw stones, burned tires and blocked roads, according to the IDF. They also attacked a nearby IDF guard post responsible for the settlement’s security.
Two settlers were injured and eight arrested in the incident. About 200 families live in Yitzhar.
On Sunday, the tires of the IDF commander of the Samaria Brigade, Col. Yoav Yarom, were slashed while he was visiting Yitzhar. A teenage resident of Yitzhar was later arrested for the crime. On Monday, the tires of a jeep on routine IDF patrol in Yitzhar also were slashed.
There have been an increasing number of attacks on security forces in the West Bank by settlers in recent weeks, according to the IDF.
“The IDF views such events harshly,” it said in a statement. “Any assault on army commanders, regular or reserves, who are engaged day and night in defending the People of Israel, is crossing a red line.” The IDF also noted that such incidents take the IDF’s attention away from protecting the residents of the settlements.
Yitzhar residents said in a statement published in Haaretz that “the policy of demolition and collective punishment by authorities against residents is disturbing. The Israeli government cannot demolish the homes of innocent people as revenge for other isolated illegitimate incidents, as grave as they may be. We call on the security establishment and its leader to stop this policy immediately.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
