Latest news with #Hebron
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Israeli settlers rampage at a military base in the West Bank
Members of Israeli forces secure the streets for Israeli settlers in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank, on June 28, 2025. (Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua via Getty Images) TEL AVIV, Israel — Dozens of Israeli settlers rampaged around a military base in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, setting fires, vandalizing military vehicles, spraying graffiti and attacking soldiers, the military said. Sunday night's unrest came after several attacks in the West Bank carried out by Jewish settlers and anger at their arrests by security forces attempting to contain the violence over the past few days. More than 100 settlers on Wednesday evening entered the West Bank town of Kfar Malik, setting property ablaze and opening fire on Palestinians who tried to stop them, Najeb Rostom, head of the local council, said. Three Palestinians were killed after the military intervened. Israeli security forces arrested five settlers. 'No civilized country can tolerate violent and anarchic acts of burning a military facility, damaging IDF property and attacking security personnel by citizens of the country,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Footage on Israeli media showed dozens of young, religious men typically associated with 'hilltop youth,' an extremist movement of Israeli settlers who occupy West Bank hilltops and have been accused of attacking Palestinians and their property. The footage showed security forces using stun grenades as dozens of settlers gathered around the military base just north of Ramallah. The Israeli military released photos of the infrastructure burned in the attack, which it said included 'systems that help thwart terrorist attacks and maintain security.' Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has often defended Israelis accused of similar crimes, offered a rare condemnation of Sunday's violence. 'Attacking security forces, security facilities, and IDF soldiers who are our brothers, our protectors, is a red line, and must be dealt with in full severity. We are brothers,' he wrote on X. Opposition leader Yair Lapid told Israel's Army radio that the riots were carried out by 'Jewish terrorists, gangs of criminals, who feel backed by the (governing) coalition.' A hard-line supporter of Jewish settlements, Ben-Gvir was previously convicted in Israel of racist incitement and support for terrorist groups, and has called for the deportation of all Arab citizens from Israel. Though once widely shunned by Israel's politicians, Ben-Gvir's influence has grown and alongside a shift to the right in the country's electorate has further emboldened violence from extremist settlers in the West Bank. Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday to 'eradicate this violence from the root,' and implored the extremist settlers to remember that many of the security forces are exhausted reservists serving multiple rounds of duty. Over the past two years of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Palestinian residents in the West Bank have reported a major increase in Israeli checkpoints and delays across the territory. Israel, meanwhile, says threats from the West Bank against its citizens are on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. The West Bank is home to some 3 million Palestinians live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, and 500,000 Jewish settlers. The international community overwhelmingly considers settlements illegal. Melanie Lidman, The Associated Press
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
West Bank tensions soar after arrests and settler attacks
Israel is grappling with fresh tensions in the occupied West Bank after a wave of arrests in Hebron and riots by Israeli settlers against the military that have revealed split loyalties in the far-right government. Israel's internal security agency, the Shin Bet, said it had arrested more than 60 Hamas operatives over the past three months with the help of the police and military. The series of operations announced on Sunday is one of the most intense in years against Hamas in the West Bank. A statement from the agency said the arrests hit 'large-scale Hamas infrastructure' in Hebron in an operation it described as the most complex it has undertaken in a decade. It added that the cell was working 'to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets', and that forces also uncovered weapons caches. The operation in Hebron raises fears about the possible expansion of Israel's unprecedented campaign in the north of the occupied West Bank, which has seen it occupy, destroy and evict the populations of refugee camps in cities such as Tulkarem and Jenin. Like those areas, Hebron has a history of Palestinian militancy, including during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. This city has, however, experienced less Israeli military activity since the Gaza war began, in comparison to northern areas. News of the wave of arrests came as settlers launched a series of attacks against Israeli soldiers. In the latest incident, an army installation in the West Bank was torched, causing millions of shekels' worth of damage. Hundreds of settlers rioted at the same time, with some holding signs calling a battalion commander a "traitor" after warning shots were fired to disperse settlers during a previous incident. The clashes sparked condemnation across Israeli politics, including in the far-right governing coalition that itself contains many extremist settlers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 'no civilised country can tolerate' the vandalism that took place and that 'whoever commits such acts undermines the rule of law and harms the country'. He nonetheless praised the wider settler movement, calling it an 'example and role model for the development of the country'. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the violence crossed a 'red line' and that the 'beautiful face' of the settlement project had 'no connection whatsoever to the type of incidents that were reported this morning'. Mr Smotrich was widely criticised for taking the side of settlers after the earlier clash with Israeli soldiers in which the battalion commander fired warning shots. A 14-year-old Israeli in the area was taken to hospital with a bullet wound. The Israeli military has not confirmed whether the bullet came from its forces. In the aftermath of the incident, Mr Smotrich posted on X that 'live fire against Jews is a forbidden and dangerous crossing of a red line which requires an in-depth investigation'. The clash took place in the village of Kafr Malik, near the Palestinian capital, Ramallah, which has been the scene of an increased rate of settler attacks against Palestinians in recent weeks. On Wednesday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in the village. There has been a major acceleration in the rate of settler attacks against Palestinian communities, with attacks on people, property and livestock since the Gaza war began. Israeli politicians rarely condemn the attacks and perpetrators are almost never brought to justice.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israeli security service says 60 Hamas members arrested in West Bank
Israel's security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group's members. The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that 'a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed' in the West Bank town of Hebron. It said it broke up 10 militant cells that 'operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame.' Hamas leaders 'worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets,' according to the statement. Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank 'in the past decade.' It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects. Hamas did not immediately comment on the statement.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Security Service Says 60 Hamas Members Arrested in West Bank
Israel's security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group's members. The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that "a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed" in the West Bank town of Hebron, AFP reported. It said it broke up 10 militant cells that "operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame". Hamas leaders "worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets", according to the statement. Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank "in the past decade". It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli security service says 60 Hamas members arrested in West Bank
HEBRON: Israel's security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group's members. The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that 'a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed' in the West Bank town of Hebron. It said it broke up 10 militant cells that 'operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame.' Hamas leaders 'worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets,' according to the statement. Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank 'in the past decade.' It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects. Hamas did not immediately comment on the statement.
