IDF raid gone bad? (archive photo)
Photo: Tzafrir Aviyov
Suspected stone throwers detained
Security forces raid West Bank settlement in search of settlers suspected of hurling stones at Palestinian trucks; IDF regiment commander lightly injured when settlers slam door on him; settlers claim raid was ‘brutal’ and ‘humiliating’
Samaria Region Police arrested Friday six settlers suspected of hurling stones at Palestinian trucks in the West Bank and rioting when IDF troops attempted to apprehend them.
According to IDF sources, Regiment Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Hazut broke was lightly injured when settlers shut a steel gate on him during the search for the suspects at the Mt. Bracha settlement.
IDF paratroopers identified a car from which settlers were hurling stones at Palestinian trucks near the West Bank settlement of Mt. Bracha.
'Onslaught on law-abiding residents'
As the soldiers were making their way to seize them, the settlers raced into the settlement. The IDF force then raided the settlement and managed to capture the suspects.
Settlers said the soldiers and police officers had forcefully entered the residents’ homes and pursued to take them outside “In a brutal and humiliating manner.”
Mt. Bracha residents said the suspects do not reside in the settlement.
“The residents staunchly condemn such behavior and are hurt by the onslaught on law-abiding residents who have nothing to do with the incident,” a resident said.
Mt. Bracha resident Michaela Ben-Shachar told Ynet “Apparently a number of teenagers threw stones and then ran away. The IDF decided to arrest every man in the area, regardless of whether he is connected to the incident or not. (The troops) entered my home through the window, arrested my husband and our friends.”
“I do not know what happened to the regiment commander, but if he attempted to forcefully enter a home without a warrant, I am not surprised they slammed the door on him,” she said.
A police source said in response that a few residents were taken out of only one of the settlement homes.
