Yitzhar settlers riot following outpost evacuation
IDF, police raze three structures in Kipa Sruga outpost; clashes ensue as settlers hurl stones, burn tires
Dozens of settlers hurled stones at security forces on Thursday after the IDF and the police razed three structures at the Kipa Sruga outpost near the settlement of Yitzhar.
One settler was arrested on suspicion he was violating a restraining order.
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Security forces restricted movement inside Yitzhar during the evacuation.
In response, settlers hurled stones at the security forces and several of them torched tires and entered nearby Palestinian villages.
Security forces near Yitzhar (Photo: Elhanan Gruner, The Jewish Voice)
The IDF said it views the settlers' unruly behavior in a very serious manner adding that their conduct "hurts the soldiers and disrupts their ability to maintain order."
The settlers, on their part, are claiming that the soldiers hit photographers who tried to document the evacuation and exercised excessive force.
According to the residents, the officers who arrived at the settlement prevented the local security guard from leaving his post and took away his cellphone.
Settlers 'have to rebuild relationship with army' (Photo: Elhanan Gruner, The Jewish Voice)
The access road to Yitzhar was blocked. Residents who inquired what was going on were apparently told by the IDF that there was a drill in the area.
Yitzhar's spokesman said that single men living in the razed structures were cuffed and forced to hand over their phones.
The settlers pointed to the Samaria Brigade commander as the person responsible for the evacuation and said that he had told them that the outpost would be razed several months ago.
They vowed to rebuild Kipa Sruga but added that "rebuilding our relationship with the army would take longer."
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