Security forces have been working in recent days to evacuate illegal outposts established by Jewish extremists across the West Bank, some of them in Area B and near Palestinian villages. In the shadow of the failure to evacuate the outpost that imposed a days-long siege on homes in the village of Qusra, the military has begun carrying out nighttime evacuations. Since the attack in the village of Tell, Jewish extremists have established about 15 such points across the West Bank.
In one particularly serious case, ynet has learned that several days ago young extremists established an illegal outpost on a military airstrip used for casualty evacuations and operational activity, rendering it unusable for several hours. They placed caravans on the airstrip in the area of the village of Yatma, near Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank.
Gallery
Outpost caravan on the airstrip in the area of the village of Yatma, near Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank
From the moment the structures were placed there, the airstrip was effectively taken out of operational use, impairing the IDF’s ability to operate in the area. The landing pad is used to evacuate casualties in emergency situations because of the long distance from hospitals, as well as to land forces for operational missions. Just a few weeks ago, Itamar Cohen, who was wounded in a terrorist attack in the northern West Bank, was evacuated from there by helicopter. The outpost was cleared several hours later.
The IDF said it views with great severity the placement of mobile structures on military infrastructure used in emergencies to evacuate casualties and which is supposed to remain available for use at all times. “There is no place for a situation in which IDF forces are required to deal with enforcement against illegal construction on such a critical operational infrastructure instead of it being used for its intended purpose.”
When the wave of outpost construction began, the IDF initially refrained from evacuating them because of the sensitivity of the issue. At the same time, talks were held with those staying at the sites, some of whom left voluntarily. When that effort failed, forces began physically evacuating one or two sites each night.
Overnight, security forces worked to evacuate an outpost in the village of Deir Istiya in the northern West Bank, in Area B, near Ariel. After the forces and equipment left the outpost, a disturbance broke out when Jewish extremists set up a stone roadblock at the nearby Yaqir HaKtana Junction. They later threw stones at Palestinian vehicles and at the security force, causing damage to Border Police vehicles.
Stone roadblock near the village of Deir Istiya in the northern West Bank; 4 arrested
One of the arrested Jewish extremists
The force responded with riot-control measures and dispersed the disturbance. Meanwhile, three of the extremists climbed onto a tow truck in an attempt to steal a confiscated tractor and were removed from it. Later, about 60 extremists set up another stone roadblock at Emmanuel Junction and then attempted to set fire to Palestinian olive groves in the area. Four suspects were arrested and taken for questioning at the Ariel police station.
At the same time, Palestinians reported that a group of settlers had set fire Thursday morning to a house in the village of Khirbet al-Fara, west of the city of Yatta in the southern Hebron Hills. Police, however, said a fire investigator and forensic investigator determined that the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit.
The Jewish extremists tried to steal a confiscated tractor
The house that burned in the southern Hebron Hills. The Palestinians claimed arson, the police: short circuit
In the shadow of the siege imposed on homes in Qusra for several days, the IDF deployed forces in the area to protect residents and stationed several companies nearby that are available for immediate deployment to the village. In recent days, the IDF has been prioritizing missions, and decided to postpone arrests of Palestinian terrorism suspects because forces in the West Bank have been diverted to other missions, including dealing with confrontations between Jews and Palestinians, Army Radio reported Wednesday.
This does not amount to canceling arrests. If the security establishment receives information about a terrorist planning to carry out an attack, that person will be arrested immediately, according to officials. Security officials say this is simply a matter of prioritizing missions in accordance with operational needs.
On Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that he had instructed the IDF to prepare a plan to transfer all enforcement authority over Israeli civilians to the police. “The IDF’s role is to fight Palestinian terrorism and focus on defending the borders and communities against threats. All responsibility for enforcing civilian matters and maintaining law and order will be transferred to the police.”
ynet revealed that Katz’s directive followed remarks made by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during one of the recent Cabinet meetings. “The missions in the West Bank are expanding,” Zamir said. “New communities will soon be going up on the ground and the IDF is facing a growing number of missions in the West Bank. IDF soldiers cannot be chasing after a handful of people who give the settlement movement a bad name. We are working in cooperation with the police, but it would be appropriate for the IDF to no longer deal with these missions.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir
(Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Ministry of Defense)
In his announcement over the weekend, Katz said he had held a discussion on the West Bank with the chief of staff and senior IDF officials, after which he instructed the military to formulate the plan “in coordination with the police and the relevant authorities.” He argued that the police should handle Israeli civilians as it does “everywhere else in the State of Israel.”
The IDF said at the time: “An internal and preliminary staff review is currently underway to examine the division of authority among the security agencies in the West Bank. Once the staff work is completed, it will be presented to the political echelon as required.”