Israel’s Public Security Minister slams settler attack as terrorism
Despite statements, no arrests have been made.
Jerusalem24 – The Israeli Public Security Minister, Omer Bar-Lev, described a settler attack that took place near the Palestinian village of Burin against human rights activists as an act of terror.
This Sunday Bar-Lev said, “in this case it is apparently an organized action, in my view, of a terror group working together.”
Despite his statements, no arrests were made against the settlers. According to Bar-Lev, the reason was that it took time for the police to reach the site of the attack in the occupied West Bank.
The attack took place in Area B of the West Bank, an area that the Israeli Minister said “the army was not present.” Based on the Oslo Accords, Area B of the West Bank is under Israeli military control and Palestinian civil control.
According to accounts by the activists, the group of 15 masked attackers came from the illegal settlement of Giv’at Ronen, an outpost notorious for being a source of past acts of violence against the Palestinian village of Burin.
Also on Sunday, Israeli police said Palestinian cars were vandalized in town of Qira in the northern West Bank, with perpetrators spray-painting Stars of David on the vehicles and puncturing their tires.
Bar-Lev caused a political storm last month after he told a top U.S. official that Israel views settler violence “severely” and that it is taking steps to tackle the phenomenon.
Several ministers slammed Bar-Lev for his comments, with Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked calling him “confused” and Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana dubbing his comments “sad” and part of a “distorted narrative.”
