Hilltop Youth run for cover as they clash with Israeli security forces evacuating and demolishing an illegal outpost built near the Jewish settlement of Metzad east of the Palestinian city of Sair in the occupied West Bank. Photo / Menahem Kahana, AFP
Hilltop Youth run for cover as they clash with Israeli security forces evacuating and demolishing an illegal outpost built near the Jewish settlement of Metzad east of the Palestinian city of Sair in the occupied West Bank. Photo / Menahem Kahana, AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed he would deal with the violent “handful of extremists” among Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, following clashes and another attack today.
Homes and vehicles in a Palestinian village were torched, hours after members of the so-called Hilltop Youth movement clashed withsecurity forces who were dismantling an illegal settler outpost.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
In recent weeks, attacks attributed to Israeli settlers, notably those living in outposts, have multiplied, targeting Palestinians and sometimes Israeli soldiers.
“I view with great severity the violent riots and the attempt by a handful of extremists to take the law into their own hands,” Netanyahu said, calling the perpetrators “a group that does not represent” settlers in the Palestinian territory.
“I call on the law enforcement authorities to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in a statement.
“I intend to deal with this personally, and convene the relevant ministers as soon as possible to address this serious phenomenon.”
Israeli security forces were deployed in their hundreds today to evacuate and demolish the illegal Israeli settler outpost of Tzur Misgavi in the Gush Etzion area, near the Palestinian town of Sair.
Hilltop Youth stand on an earth mover as they clash with Israeli security forces evacuating and demolishing an illegal outpost built near the Jewish settlement of Metzad east of the Palestinian city of Sair in the occupied West Bank, on November 17. Photo / Menahem Kahana, AFP
They fired tear gas and stun grenades as they clashed with extremist settler activists, whose goal is to evict Palestinian residents and establish settlements in the West Bank without government approval.
Demonstrators clambered onto a digger and stood on top of one of the structures as a bulldozer knocked into it.
At least 10 prefabricated homes were demolished. Women carrying their young children were left sitting amid the rubble afterwards.
Village attacked
Hours later, the Israeli military said it had been dispatched alongside police to the nearby Palestinian village of Jab’a, around 30km southwest of Jerusalem, following reports of “dozens of Israeli civilians who set fire to and vandalised homes and vehicles”.
“Israeli security forces at the scene are conducting searches to locate involved individuals. The incident is still ongoing,” it said in a statement.
“These violent incidents divert the attention of commanders and soldiers from their primary mission of defence and counter-terrorism.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “The riot of the Hilltop Youth in the village of Jab’a is another stage in the escalating violence”.
The United Nations said October had been the worst month for West Bank settler violence since it began recording incidents in 2006, with 264 attacks that caused casualties or property damage.
Almost none of the perpetrators have been held to account by the Israeli authorities.
Israeli security forces clash with Hilltop Youth as they evacuate and demolish an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank. Photo / Menahem Kahana, AFP
‘Shaming Judaism’
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the “Jewish rioters” in the West Bank were harming Israel, “shaming Judaism and causing damage to the settlement enterprise”.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Government would “continue to develop and grow settlements” while upholding the law “and the stability of the region, as he condemned the “criminal anarchists”.
Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir last week pledged to halt settler violence in the West Bank, following a wave of attacks targeting Palestinians.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and more than 500,000 Israelis now live there in settlements, alongside some three million Palestinians.
While all Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, outposts are also prohibited under Israeli law.
However, many end up being legalised by the Israeli authorities.
At least 1006 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the Gaza war started, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.
