Israeli leaders condemn settler riot in Samaria village that reportedly left one man dead, cars and houses burned

Israel’s political and security leaders strongly condemned a riot by extremist Jewish settlers on Thursday evening, The violence, which took place in the town of Jit in Samaria, reportedly resulted in the death of a Palestinian man and the burning of houses and cars.

According to Army Radio citing a security source, a mob of about 100 Israelis – some masked – entered the village and began throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.

The suspects reportedly set fire to at least four houses and six cars before being chased away by IDF units who rushed to the village in Samaria, also known as the West Bank.

גורמי ביטחון: עשרות רעולי פנים יהודים הציתו מבנים וכלי רכב פלסטינים בכפר ג'ית בשומרון. עד כה, דווח על ארבעה בתים ושישה כלי רכב שניזוקו בהצתות. כוחות צבא ומג"ב הגיעו למקום כדי לפזר את המתפרעים. אין עצורים@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/RzYopm1Gby

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The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said that a local youth was shot dead by one of the rioters and that another person was seriously wounded. Israeli officials haven’t confirmed the report, and the IDF said the claim of a Palestinian being killed is under investigation.

“We went through terrorism,” Naser Sida, the mayor of the Jit village council, told Ynet News on Friday morning. “We woke up to the smell of fires, the children were scared. If our young people had not gone out to try to repel the settlers, it could have had a greater disaster.”

The IDF announced it had launched a joint investigation of the incident with the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police.

“The IDF condemns the rioters, who harm security, law and order, and prevent the IDF and the security forces from their main mission of thwarting terrorism and protecting the security of the residents,” the army stated.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views, with utmost severity, the disturbances that took place this evening in Jit, which included attacks on people and property by Israelis who entered the village,” Netanyahu’s office stated. “It is the IDF and the security forces that fight terrorism, and nobody else. Those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried.”

While most of Israel’s leaders strongly and swiftly condemned the event, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir issued a more measured response several hours later.

Ben Gvir began his statement by noting he had told “the [IDF] Chief of Staff this evening that the fact that we do not back soldiers to shoot any terrorist who throws stones leads to events such as that which happened tonight.”

However, he added, “It is unequivocally forbidden to take the law into one’s own hands. The one who needs to deal with terrorism and deterrence, including against terrorists from the village of Jit, is the IDF,” Ben Gvir said.

In addition to Ben Gvir, prominent settler leaders criticized the rioters and distanced the settlement movement from them.

“The rioters tonight in Jit are not related in any way to the settlement and the settlers,” said Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism party and the main political vehicle of the settler movement.

“They are criminals who should be dealt with by the law enforcement authorities with the full severity of the law. We build and develop the settlement in a legal manner, support the IDF in its fight against terrorism, and strongly disapprove of any manifestation of anarchist criminal violence,” Smotrich emphasized. 

Samaria Council head Yossi Dagan and Uzel Vatik, head of the Kedumim Council near Jit, also distanced themselves from the rioters, claiming they were from outside of Samaria.

“Even after stones are thrown, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands!”

“The settlement in Samaria despises boys who come from outside Samaria and produce violence. We say to those uninvited guests who came to Samaria through crazy WhatsApp groups to make a mess and violence: If you want to behave violently, don’t come here to Samaria – you are not welcome here!”

“We do not need your acts of violence and the bad name you are giving to settlements in Judea and Samaria and to the entire State of Israel.”

They added that even though there had been an increase in the number of terror attacks in the area, and while claiming the young man who was killed was a known terror supporter, “The handling of terrorists and supporters of terrorism should be left to the IDF. Violent acts like we saw in Jit must not happen and have no place.”

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the Shas party called on “the Shin Bet and the enforcement agencies to act immediately to eradicate the serious nationalist crime that took place.”

“These actions are against the values of Judaism. They are a moral and human abomination and harm the State of Israel and the settlement enterprise in the West Bank,” Arbel said.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called the rioters “a group of radical individuals” who “attacked innocent people,” noting they don’t represent the values of the Israeli communities living in Judea and Samaria.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on 𝕏: “This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding settler population, the settlement as a whole, and the name and position of Israel in the world during a particularly sensitive and difficult period.”

“This is not our way and certainly not the way of Torah and Judaism. Law enforcement officials must act immediately against this serious phenomenon and bring the lawbreakers to justice,” Herzog said.