Followers of convicted Israeli rabbi Eliezer Berland entered the Palestinian village of Kifl Haris in the West Bank overnight Monday without coordinating with the IDF, prompting stone-throwing and clashes that left two members of the group wounded.
Kifl Haris contains tombs traditionally associated with the biblical figures Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh.
Radical Hasidics enter Palestinian village housing biblical tombs, sparking violent clashes
Palestinians threw stones at the visitors, and a disturbance developed at the scene. Two of Berland’s followers were injured and taken for treatment, one to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the other to a Terem urgent care clinic.
Five members of the group were detained for questioning at the Binyamin police station.
“This is Area B. There is no reason the army should not allow us free access there,” one of the followers said, acknowledging that the group had entered the village on previous occasions.
“Every time, Arabs throw stones there and cause trouble,” he said. “We will continue going there with full force, and the army will not stop us.”
Another follower said many of those who entered the village were military draft evaders and therefore hesitated to call police or emergency medical services after the confrontation began.
“Most of the guys who were there are deserters, so even when a fight broke out, we did not want to call the police or Magen David Adom because we were afraid of being arrested,” he said.