Colonel’s tires punctured during visit to Yitzhar

Tires of Col. Yoav Yarom's vehicle were punctured in Yitzhar; Ya'alon: Act done by small group, who belongs behind bars.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Army vehicle with punctured tires, West Bank, January 10, 2014 (photo credit: IDF Spokesperson, Courtesy)
Army vehicle with punctured tires, West Bank, January 10, 2014
(photo credit: IDF Spokesperson, Courtesy)
The vehicle of Col. Yoav Yarom, commander of the IDF Samaria Regional Brigade, was vandalized by puncturing the tires during a visit he paid to the settlement of Yitzhar on Friday.
The IDF said it took a grave view of the incident, and Judea and Samaria police have launched an investigation.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned the incident, saying, “This criminal act does not represent the settlers in Judea and Samaria.”
“We won’t allow anyone to harm IDF soldiers or commanders. We will find these criminals and bring them to justice,” the prime minister promised.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon echoed Netanyahu’s comments, saying he views the incident as a “grave and intolerable incident that demands the quick and determined attention of all bodies fighting this phenomenon, primarily our [attention] as a government.”
“Col. Yarom, like other commanders in the area, works tirelessly to protect the residents of the area and the other citizens of Israel, and damaging his vehicle is a despicable act done by a small group of lawbreakers who belong behind bars,” Ya’alon said.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon stressed the perpetrators of the attack were a minority, “a small bunch of cowards smearing the reputation of the settler population, that backs and contributes to the IDF.”
Friday saw five disturbances in the West Bank, in which Palestinians clashed with security forces. In Kaddum, near Nablus, 100 rioters who threw rocks were dispersed by the IDF.
Around 30 rioters were dispersed in Ni’lin; 100 at Jaiyus, near Kalkilya; and 60 in Nabi Salih, on the outskirts of Ramallah.
Earlier in the day, three settlers were arrested at Kibbutz Tirat Zvi, in the Beit She’an Valley, for planning an attack on an Israel Lands Authority clerk who distributed demolition orders for illegal structures in the West Bank.

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The three are residents of the West Bank settlements of Talmon near Ramallah and Shadmot Mehola.
On Saturday, rocks were thrown at an Israeli motorcyclist northeast of Ramallah. There were no injuries in that incident.

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.