Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemns “handful of extremists” after clashes and village attack, pledging personal intervention amid rising West Bank violence.
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to personally address violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank following clashes and a Palestinian village attack.
Netanyahu condemned what he called a “handful of extremists” who torched homes and vehicles in Jab’a village on Monday evening.
“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 stated.
He described the perpetrators as “a group that does not represent” settlers in the Palestinian territory.
The prime minister called on law enforcement to deal with rioters “to the fullest extent of the law”.
“I intend to deal with this personally, and convene the relevant ministers as soon as possible to address this serious phenomenon,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, hundreds of Israeli security forces evacuated and demolished the illegal Tzur Misgavi outpost in the Gush Etzion area.
Forces fired tear gas and stun grenades during clashes with extremist settler activists from the Hilltop Youth movement.
Demonstrators climbed onto machinery as bulldozers knocked down at least 10 prefabricated homes.
Hours later, dozens of Israeli civilians attacked the Palestinian village of Jab’a, approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Jerusalem.
The Israeli military confirmed responding to reports of settlers “who set fire to and vandalised homes and vehicles”.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the Jab’a violence “another stage in the escalating violence”.
The United Nations recorded October as the worst month for West Bank settler violence since 2006, with 264 attacks.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said “Jewish rioters” were harming Israel and “shaming Judaism”.
Defence Minister Israel Katz condemned “criminal anarchists” while pledging to continue developing settlements.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, with over 500,000 Israeli settlers living alongside approximately three million Palestinians.
All settlements are considered illegal under international law, while outposts also violate Israeli law.
At least 1,006 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Official Israeli figures show 43 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank during the same period. – AFP
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