IDF to pull out of settlement due to violence
Army officials decide to remove soldiers from West Bank settlement of Yitzhar due to repeated acts of violence committed by locals against troops; soldiers will continue to secure Yitzhar residents from outside settlement grounds
IDF officials have decided Thursday to pull soldiers out the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.
The decision was reached following a number of violent acts committed against the troops manning the settlement, including the puncturing of army vehicles’ tires. However, soldiers will continue to secure Yitzhar residents from outside the settlement grounds.
Last night 10 hooded settlers attacked a soldier manning the settlement's main gate, pushing him to the ground and taking away his transmitter.
The soldier did not require medical treatment, and his transmitter was later returned to him following talks with those in charge of settlement security. During the night Yitzhar settlers punctured the tires of an army vehicle.
The IDF plans to file a complaint with the police in light of the events.
About a year ago the army pulled a platoon from Yitzhar, leaving a smaller force to man the settlement.
Western Wall incident
Confrontations in Yitzar culminated in January 2004, when a soldier fired into the air during settler disturbances. No one was injured in the incident. The IDF and settlers presented conflicting versions of the incident.
The soldier claimed that he was trying to prevent a young settler girl from puncturing an army vehicle tire when some 14 settlers lunged at him. One of them pulled out a gun, at which point the soldier fired in the air as a warning, according to the soldier’s version.
During the same incident Staff Sergeant Yossi Filant was arrested for calling on his fellow soldiers to refuse orders. He was sentenced to 28 days in a military prison, but the court later ordered his release after finding flaws in the legal proceedings.
During this time it was reported that a group of Yitzhar settlers stopped the flow of water to IDF dwellings in the settlement and damaged an army jeep after the IDF stopped the flow of water to an illegal outpost set up near the settlement.
In October 2005 police apprehended a 32-year-old teacher from Yitzar on suspicion of attacking IDF Personnel Directorate Head Elazar Stern at the Western Wall.
The suspect was handed over to the Jerusalem District police for further questioning.
A month prior to the Western Wall incident, settlers placed spikes and threw stones at a jeep carrying Central Command Chief Yair Naveh near Yitzhar.
No injuries were reported in the incident, but one of the jeep’s tires was punctured. The IDF officers continued driving while settlers shouted “Jews don’t expel Jews” at them.
