Israel admits West Bank settlers torched military base, minister says ‘criminals cross a red line’

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday (June 30) he would convene an “urgent meeting” with senior security officials following a string of violent attacks by Jewish settlers against Israeli troops and installations in the occupied West Bank.

“This phenomenon must be put to an immediate end. We will take all necessary measures and completely uproot this violence. No one will dare raise a hand against IDF soldiers and members of the security forces,” Katz said in a statement.

Tensions have risen in the West Bank after Israeli settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village last week. In the days since, several confrontations have erupted between extremist settlers and Israeli security personnel, culminating in a riot outside an army base overnight.

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According to the Israeli military, civilians assaulted troops, sprayed them with pepper spray and vandalised military vehicles near the Binyamin Regional Brigade base on Sunday night. Some of the same individuals are believed to have attacked troops on Friday when they attempted to prevent settlers from entering a closed military zone near Kafr Malik, a Palestinian village in the central West Bank.

“Dozens of Israeli civilians gathered at the entrance” of the brigade’s base, the military said in a statement. “The gathering became violent and some of the civilians at the scene attacked the security forces, sprayed pepper spray at them, and vandalized military vehicles.”

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Security forces, including police and border guards, intervened to disperse the crowd. One Israeli civilian was injured during the incident, the statement added.

Later, the army reported that settlers had “set fire to and vandalized a security site containing systems that contribute to thwarting terrorist attacks” near the same base.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the violence, writing on X: “Such events are unacceptable, and offenders must be severely punished.”

“The IDF and security forces work day and night to protect the citizens of Israel and ensure its security. We must support them, not hinder their activities, and under no circumstances attack them.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician and strong supporter of the settlement movement, also denounced the attacks. In a statement on X, he said a “red line” had been crossed and called for a police investigation.

Human rights organisations have long criticised what they describe as a pattern of impunity for settler violence in the West Bank, which has surged since the war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023 following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

With inputs from agencies