Israel Acts Against Jewish Settlers Who Rampaged in West Bank

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took the rare step of jailing without trial four Jewish extremists who burned Palestinian cars and looted homes in the occupied West Bank.

(Bloomberg) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took the rare step of jailing without trial four Jewish extremists who burned Palestinian cars and looted homes in the occupied West Bank.

A senior security official said the four were placed under administrative detention, which permits authorities to detain suspects indefinitely out of concern for public safety. The tool has been used on thousands of Palestinians but infrequently on Jews.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no further details of those detained could be provided.

The move is indicative of escalating violence between Israel and Palestinian territories since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed power at the head of a far-right coalition late last year. The related skirmishes followed the murder of four Jewish Israelis at a roadside West Bank restaurant, after an Israeli military operation in Jenin in which six Palestinians were killed.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed alarm to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen over the settler violence. Some attacks took place in the village of Turmus Aya, where many residents are US citizens who use the homes during summer.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu and Cohen also condemned the unrest, labeling it terror and vowing to crack down. It’s been an unusually violent year so far in the West Bank, with more than 20 Jews and 100 Palestinians killed.

Gallant sought a government-wide condemnation of the detained Jews but failed to get agreement from some on the far right of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, the official said.

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