BICOM

Around 17 settler activists infiltrated a closed military zone last night along the Jordanian border and took over an old, deserted building on the site. The IDF and police quickly surrounded the activists, and took them in for questioning. The activists seized an abandoned church near the Qasr al-Yahud holy site, which is the believed site of Jesus’ baptism, 200 metres from the Jordanian border.

The activists said the action was intended as a message to the Jordanian authorities to keep out of Temple Mount affairs. On Sunday, the Mughrabi Bridge, which leads from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount, was closed in fear that it may collapse following weeks of disagreements between Israeli and Jordanian authorities on plans to build a better bridge. The bridge is used by non-Muslim tourists to enter the Temple Mount.

Earlier this morning, in an unconnected incident, some 50 settlers and right-wing activists entered a West Bank military base and threw rocks, burned tyres, and vandalised military vehicles. The settlers were acting in response to a rumour that the IDF would evict a West Bank outpost in accordance with an August Supreme Court ruling.

In the attack, on the Efraim Regional Brigade’s base near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, right-wing activists threw stones at the region’s brigade commander and his deputy after forcefully opening the door to their jeep. The brigade commander was lightly wounded.