Dozens of Israeli settler rioters gathered on the outskirts of the village of Kusra in the West Bank on Saturday, igniting violent clashes with the local residents, according to a KAN news report.
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.
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.
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.