Middle East
Arrests after settler riots against Palestinians
A girl stands next to a car that was destroyed in an arson attack by Jewish settlers in Turmus Aya, West Bank. photo
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
After an attack on Israelis, settlers massively attacked innocent Palestinians and their property. The Israeli army will not tolerate that. A minister, on the other hand, clearly supports the settlers.
After massive riots by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, Israel’s domestic secret service, the Shin Bet, has arrested three suspects, according to media reports. The riots broke out after an attack in the West Bank in which two militant Palestinians shot dead four Israelis on Tuesday. News site ynet reported Friday that settlers also set up seven new outposts in response to the killing.
Far-right Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Eviatar outpost, which was vacated two years ago. He showed solidarity with the settlers who had returned to Eviatar after the attack and called for the establishment of further outposts. At the same time, he called for a broad military operation against militant Palestinians. “Destroying houses, wiping out terrorists, not one or two, but dozens, hundreds, thousands if necessary.”
After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the accelerated construction of around 1,000 apartments in the region. “Our response to terrorism is to fight it with all our might and build up our country,” it said in a statement. The US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, criticized the settlers who set dozens of vehicles and houses on fire. The United States does not stand idly by such violence. He also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the attack.
Army speaks of “nationalist crimes”
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari condemned the settler attacks on Friday as a “nationalist crime”. Hagari said in an interview with journalists that settler violence leads to “Palestinian civilians who are in no way involved in terrorism being pushed in the direction of escalation”. It is part of the army’s responsibility to ensure “that innocent Palestinians can live in safety”. The military failed to do this this week, but will do everything possible to prevent such incidents in the future.
An EU delegation on Friday visited the village of Turmus Aya, where settlers had caused heavy destruction. Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, representative of the EU, described an arson attack there as terrorism by the settlers against the Palestinians. As the occupying power, Israel is responsible for protecting the Palestinians.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. Almost 600,000 Israelis live there today in more than 200 settlements. In 2016, the UN Security Council labeled these settlements a violation of international law and called on Israel to halt all settlement activities. The Palestinians want to set up their own states in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip and in East Jerusalem.