Israeli security forces raze illegal constructions near Yitzhar settlement
The settlement's leadership condemns Border Police and Civil Administration for demolishing 2 wooden structures built in West Bank's Area B; meanwhile, footage emerges showing local settlers threatening Israeli forces; Die! May God take you!'
Israeli security forces on Wednesday demolished two wooden constructions located near the settlement of Yitzhar where on Monday an IDF soldier was wounded in an attack by a group of settlers.
Border Police forces and the Civil Administration arrived to the “Praise of the Land” outpost just outside Yitzhar in the northern West Bank, after an order was issued on Wednesday, for the demolition of illegally built structures in West Bank's Area B, under Palestinian security control.
The settlement’s leadership condemned the demolition, labeling it a “violent tag mehir (price tag) which harms the community's efforts “to restore the quiet."
"The community expressed its firm stance against harming soldiers, and precisely because of this, the decision to demolish buildings as an act of punishment is devastating and improper,” said the Yitzhar leadership’s statement.
Settlers from Yitzhar have recently been involved in a series of violent incidents, attacking and threatening Israeli troops patrolling the area.
In a video footage published on Tuesday, several settlers are seen verbally attacking and threatening Border Patrol policemen.
"Die! May God take you!” one settler is heard shouting. “Take off your uniform and face me one on one.”
On Monday, a group of some 30 settlers threw stones at the IDF patrol and slashed the tires on their vehicle during the 3am incident close to Yitzhar. One soldier was lightly hurt by the stones thrown at the troops.
The incident came shortly after a resident of Yitzhar was arrested on suspicion of attacking the Golani Brigade patrol commander, Lt. Col. Ayub Kayuf. According to the IDF, several settlers on Saturday night blocked the vehicle in which the officer was travelling, with one opening the vehicle's door and threatening to seize it.
