Extremist Israeli settlers stormed an Israeli army base in the West Bank on Sunday night, according to the armed forces. The settlers reportedly set fire to an expensive security installation with computer equipment.
The Israeli army said in a statement on X that the destroyed systems were used for law enforcement and the prevention of attacks. The damage now poses a security risk, according to the army.
Riots have been taking place between the settlers and Israeli soldiers for days. According to The Times of Israel, they began on Wednesday when soldiers intervened in an attack by settlers on the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik. Three Palestinians were killed in the attack. The army arrested six Israelis, who were later released.
In the days that followed, the settlers confronted the soldiers. They called the commander a traitor for allowing his battalion to intervene and arresting Israelis. Soldiers were beaten and car tires were punctured.
The government, including the far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich (Finance) and Itamar Ben-Gvir (National Security), has condemned the attacks.
Violence in West Bank has increased sharply
The violence of extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank has increased sharply since the start of the war in Gaza. Human rights organizations state that the Israeli army hardly intervenes.
In addition, according to the United Nations Human Rights Organization, the construction of illegal settlements is firmly on the rise. And that while the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last year that the settlements that Israel has built in recent decades on, among other places, the West Bank are in violation of international law.
“The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories is de facto an annexation of the area,” the ICJ ruled. According to the court, the Israeli presence in the Palestinian Territories must be ended and Israel must immediately stop building new settlements.
The ICJ also believes that countries have an obligation not to recognize the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories as legitimate.