Settlers clash with troops after terror strike
Despite a rare call to settlers, by the IDF, not to take the law into their own hands, in the wake of the deadly terror attack near the settlement of Eli on Tuesday, security forces were faced with riots and violence as some West Bank settlers sought revenge after four people were murdered and four others injured when two Palestinians opened fire at restaurant and gas station at the entrance to the settlement.
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Troops were seen firing into the air to chase settlers away from a Palestinian village and at least one car was set on fire in Huwara, the site of previous settler riots, while other settlers congregated outside the town.
"This kind of behavior just provokes more terror and is a burden on security forces who are stretched to the limit in the area," a security source said. "The IDF is dealing with nationalistically motivated criminal acts instead of operating against the terrorists. Just in the past few days, some terror suspects who were arrested said they set out to launch attacks to avenge the burning of homes and cars in Huwara last February," he said.
Some 400 settlers entered the Palestinian town after a terrorist shot and killed two brothers from a nearby settlement. The rioters set homes on fire and burned dozens of cars before they were stopped by the military
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Settlers set homes and cars ablaze after brothers were murdered by terrorists
(Photo: Screenshot)
The police also bolstered its troop deployment on West Bank roads and intersections prone to clashes between settlers and Palestinian local residents. "Our forces along with the military will take action to protect public security and prevent disruption of public order while allowing protests to take place in designated locations," the police said in a statement adding calls for the public to adhere to police instructions.
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Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi consulting with commanders after the deadly terror attack near Eli
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi met with Shin Bet officials. He ordered the arrest of Palestinian suspects and the demolition of homes belonging to terrorists that have already been mapped. "We must be able to fight the terrorists. Do not take the law into your own hands," a military spokesperson said. But Yitzhak Kroizer, a right-wing lawmaker from the Otzma Yehudit Party and a resident of a settlement himself, said the IDF's statement was enraging.