Tensions flared Monday between settlers and Palestinians near the West Bank settlement of Mevo'ot Yericho. Settlers wielding clubs were filmed infiltrating a local Palestinian village school, reportedly attacking students and staff. Both the Civil Administration and IDF are now investigating the incident.
Settlers storming school
The confrontation was ignited when a Jewish goat herder found himself embroiled in an altercation with several Palestinians while grazing in an area off-limits to Jews near a Palestinian village nestled in the Mu'arrajat region, a landscape dotted with Bedouin settlements northwest of Jericho. Both the shepherd and his companion sustained injuries.
Later, a group of settlers, armed with clubs, stormed an elementary school in the village. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that these settlers assaulted students and educational staff. According to Palestinian sources, they not only beat an elderly man but also charged into the school, attacking students and teachers.
Reports also surfaced that the school principal and a teacher were apprehended by IDF, accused of hurling stones at the settlers. Palestinians, however, contend they were merely trying to shield the children and repel the settlers. The Palestinian Red Crescent documented injuries to seven individuals during these clashes, comprising both Palestinians and activists who had arrived to lend support.
An IDF spokesperson commented: "Earlier today, a report was received regarding an Israeli civilian who was assaulted by several Palestinians in the Mevo'ot Yericho area, sustaining a head injury. Shortly thereafter, several Israeli civilians arrived at the location where the suspects, who attacked the Israeli civilian, had fled and hidden. A confrontation ensued, during which several Palestinians were injured. Upon receiving the report, IDF and police forces rushed to the scene, managed the confrontation, and detained several suspects."
In parallel developments, the State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment in the Central District Court against Yosef Bar Tal, 18, a Bat Yam resident, along with two minors from Hebron and Elon Moreh. Charges stem from their involvement in an attack on Palestinian vehicles in the West Bank last month, driven by nationalist and ideological motives, amounting to offenses under the auspices of a terrorist act.
According to the indictment, laid out by attorney Tomer Steinberg, on the night of August 9, the defendants orchestrated an attack on Palestinian vehicles, motivated by nationalist and ideological fervor. To this end, they altered their vehicle's license plate and armed themselves with a club, an iron rod and stones.
The indictment continues that they targeted three random Palestinian vehicles driving along roads near the villages of Burin and Awarta, both located south of Nablus. Their actions resulted in damage to the vehicles, shattering windows and windshields. Furthermore, they struck one of the drivers with a club aimed at his head, injuring his right shoulder. The driver also suffered an eye injury from a glass shard entering his eye.
In the aftermath, as the Palestinian passengers managed to escape, the defendants returned to their vehicle, attempting to drive back home to the settlement of Itamar. On their journey, they were intercepted by an IDF force conducting a search of their vehicle and ordering them to remain at the scene. The defendants disregarded the soldiers' command, fleeing the scene in a dangerous manner, forcing the military commander to leap back to avoid being struck by their vehicle. Their escape continued until they reached an open area near Itamar, where they abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot.
The defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit a felony classified as a terrorist act, altering the identity of a vehicle or vehicle parts collectively, intentional damage to a vehicle collectively under the circumstances of a terrorist act, throwing or firing a stone or other object at a vehicle collectively under the circumstances of a terrorist act, aggravated assault under the circumstances of a terrorist act, obstruction of a public servant, driving without a vehicle license and insurance policy, and reckless or negligent driving.
Alongside the indictment, a detention request until the end of proceedings was filed, with the prosecution expressing "disgust and absolute abhorrence of the grave, wrongful and repugnant acts attributed to the respondents in the indictment, highlighting their danger to individuals, the public and the state. The defendants' threat is further amplified by the nationalist and ideological backdrop to these acts, compounded by the security tension prevailing during this period."
The investigation was spearheaded by the Shin Bet and police, who reported in a statement: "Following a joint investigation, serious indictments were filed in the Central District Court. In their operations, the defendants used non-firearm weapons, hurled stones, attempted to obstruct the investigation through various means, and even endangered IDF soldiers during their escape efforts. Through these actions, the young men endangered themselves and the security forces who had to enter Palestinian villages in pursuit of them."
"These indictments add to other severe charges recently filed against two Givat Ronen residents involved in a serious attack on Israeli Arab women from Rahat last August. Security forces will continue to act to thwart and prevent terrorism of all kinds across all sectors, with further arrests anticipated in the coming days," according to the statement.
Attorney Asaf Gonen, representing the defendants, said that "the indictment filed today reflects a very concerning process unfolding here in recent years regarding the prevention of attorney-client meetings. They detain young men without criminal records, some of whom are minors; the young man I represent was about to enlist in the Golani Brigade. They are taken from their homes, deprived of sleep and coerced into making statements. The prevention of meetings is a draconian tool Shin Bet and prosecution wield in cases that, with all due proportions, are not severe, and no one was seriously harmed. Instead of reserving this tool for terrorists and 'ticking time bombs,' they apply it broadly – this is a slippery slope."
Attorney Moshe Polsky, representing the minors said that "the incident did not originate in a vacuum but was a reaction to stone-throwing by Palestinians at Jews seeking those who harmed them. Minors without criminal records were interrogated without legal representation. All the defenders of human rights, if we wish to be in a law-abiding country, must protest against this."