Israeli Settlers Raid Own Nation's Army Outpost

An Israeli army outpost in the West Bank was raided today—and it was Jewish settlers doing the raiding, while soldiers stood by and watched. The incident followed a violent confrontation between the soldiers and far-right settlers in Yitzhar. It began when border police demolished four illegal structures and seized a caravan in the area, prompting hundreds to riot, the Jerusalem Post reports. Security forces say they were met with rock throwing, burning tires, and road blocks.

Security forces used non-lethal measures to disperse the crowd, but soon 40-60 settlers responded by ransacking the army outpost, which stands on a hill overlooking Yitzhar. They destroyed generators, tents, mattresses, heaters, fuel tanks, and other army equipment. The six reservists manning the post didn't try to intervene. The settlers "told the soldiers to stand aside so they won't get hurt, and the soldiers stood there embarrassed and frustrated," one reserve officer tells Haaretz. "I did not prepare my soldiers for a situation in which they are attacked by those they are protecting." (More Israel stories.)