BICOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday implemented a series of steps that would allow the authorities to clamp down on radical settlers, following a series of attacks by Jewish extremists including an incident on an IDF military base in the West Bank, in which a rock was thrown at the head of a senior IDF officer. Netanyahu approved administrative detention orders and approved trying the activists in a military court, which would speed up the sentencing. In addition, Netanyahu gave IDF soldiers the authority to carry out arrests in the West Bank and expanded investigation teams made up of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Services) and Israel Police. Netanyahu said that he would increase funding for investigations of violence in the West Bank. “Anyone who raises a hand against Israeli soldiers or police will be severely punished,” said Netanyahu. However, he rejected recommendations to treat Israelis suspected of violence as “terrorists,” which would have enabled further legislative measures such as the blocking of bank accounts.

Most Israelis hold military service in high regard, as most Israeli men and many women are conscripted for compulsory duty at the age of 18. Consequently, the outcry in Israel over Monday’s incident at the West Bank army base drew harsh condemnation from the majority of Knesset members, including those affiliated to settler groups.

In a related development, Israeli police said yesterday they had arrested five Israeli men suspected of involvement in an incident on Wednesday in which a disused Jerusalem mosque was vandalised.

This morning, security forces and civil administration officials demolished two illegal structures in the Mitzpe Yitzhar outposts. The forces did not meet any significant resistance.