Israel’s leaders have issued rare criticism against recent settler rampage in the West Bank region.
On Thursday, a settler riot broke out in the Israeli town of Jit, near the northern West Bank region, that resulted in the death of at least one Palestinian. Residents of the region spoke with The Associated Press (AP) this week and explained that dozens of masked settlers invaded the village, damaging homes, cars and firing live ammunition.
Homes were seen engulfed in flames during the riot and residents were forced to defend themselves for over an hour, the AP reported.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the riots saying “I take seriously the riots that took place this evening in the village of Jit, which included injury to life and property by Israelis who entered the village.”
“Those who fight terrorism are the IDF [Israeli Defense Force] and the security forces, and no one else. Those responsible for any criminal act will be caught and prosecuted,” Netanyahu added.
Some other Israeli officials also responded to the riot such as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who said, “At a time when our troops are fighting on the front lines, defending the State of Israel, a group of radical individuals have launched a riot, and attacked innocent people. They do not represent the values of the communities living in Samaria.”
“I strongly condemn any form of violence, and fully support the IDF, ISA, and Israeli Police in fulfilling their roles and addressing this issue. Violent, radical riots are the opposite of every code and value upheld by the State of Israel,” Gallant said.
JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also said that he “strongly” condemns the “evening disturbances in Samaria.”
“This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community of settlers and the settlement as a whole and in the name and status of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period. This is not our way and certainly not the way of Torah and Judaism. Law enforcement officials must act immediately against this serious phenomenon and bring the lawbreakers to justice,” the Israeli president added in a post on X.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas launched an attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,250 people.
On Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry announced that the Palestinian death toll had surpassed 40,000 since the start of the war.
The Palestinians aim to establish the West Bank—territory seized by Israel during the 1967 Mideast war—as the core of a future state, a goal widely supported by the international community.
The ongoing war has led to heightened tensions throughout the Middle East and last month Hamas and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president.
Newsweek reached out to the Israeli government’s press office via email for comment.
