Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned violence committed by dozens of settler rioters who gathered on the outskirts of the village of Kusra in the West Bank on Saturday, igniting violent clashes with the local residents.
"I strongly condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Kusra and Jalud by a handful of rioters who violate the law, cause enormous injustice to the law-abiding settler public, hinder the IDF in fulfilling its missions and harm Israel's standing in the world," Netanyahu said in a statement.
Netanyahu added that security forces had ended the incident "in a short time," and confiscated three vehicles.
The IDF stated that, following reports of the riots, it dispatched troops along with border police officers to the area.
According to the IDF, the settler rioters had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian house, where residents were present. IDF troops and Israeli police then forcibly removed the rioters from the house.
The IDF confirmed that it also confiscated vehicles belonging to the rioters, which are suspected of being used to access the area. These vehicles, along with additional evidence collected at the scene by Israeli security forces, are being transferred to the West Bank District of the Israel Police as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
The IDF, the Shin Bet, and the police are conducting an investigation, Netanyahu said, adding that he expected the rioters to be arrested and brought to justice.
Palestinians reported that a total of eight people were injured during stone-throwing altercations with the rioters, some of whom were evacuated for medical treatment by the Red Crescent.
According to Israeli media, no arrests were made after the IDF arrived in the area, with the settlers leaving the village outskirts after being ordered by the military to do so.
According to a Walla report, IDF and Border Police continue to maintain a presence in the Kusra area due to concerns that the rioters might attempt to return.
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot also issued a response to the Kusra violence in a post to X/Twitter on Saturday night.
“The escalating anarchy of a violent minority and the loss of control over them in Judea and Samaria represent a security, leadership, political, and ethical disgrace that does not reflect the overwhelming majority of Israeli citizens, and it is a deviation from the IDF's primary mission.” Eisenkot asserted.
Eisenkot went on in his statement to assign responsibility for the violence in Kusra and the broader issues related to the increase in violence in the West Bank to Netanyahu, saying, “This is the result of a governmental policy led by Netanyahu and his coalition partners, in which they knowingly abandon Israel's national interest out of embarrassingly weak and dangerous political considerations.”
Kusra and a pattern of extremist behavior
Earlier this month, similar altercations took place when dozens of settlers arrived in the Kusra area and were seen vandalizing Palestinian homes, dismantling fences, blocking roads, and surrounding the area.
IDF forces were summoned to the scene and worked to evacuate the settlers, who then clashed with the soldiers.
Following the incident, settler leaders, including the heads of the Yesha Council and the Beit El Council, publicly condemned the violence, warning that it was severely damaging to both Israel and the settlement movement.
Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, said there was no justification for violence against Palestinians or Israeli security forces.
“The events in Kusra are serious and are not our way,” Ganz said.
“There is no place for privately deciding to establish a hilltop outpost in the yard of a house, even when it is an illegal house or there is an attempt to take control of the area,” he said. “There is absolutely no justification for violence against innocent people or against the security forces.”
Shir Perets contributed to this report.