Six […] settlers were arrested overnight into Saturday after assaulting IDF reservists, including a battalion commander at the rank of lieutenant colonel, near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik, according to a joint statement from the military and police.
The incident occurred days after three Palestinians, residents of the West Bank village, were killed by IDF gunfire.
Security officials told Haaretz they believe approximately 40 settlers entered a closed military zone near the village, north of Ramallah, from a newly established outpost in the Tall Asur region (Hebrew: Baʻal Hatzor).
According to a security source, the settlers threw stones at the soldiers, beat and choked them, and punctured the tires of army vehicles. The troops used crowd dispersal measures in an attempt to regain control, and one soldier fired three warning shots into the air.
On Wednesday, three Palestinians were killed and seven were wounded by Israeli army gunfire in Kafr Malik near Ramallah.
According to the IDF, dozens of settlers set fire to property in the village and threw stones at residents. Israeli forces who arrived at the scene said that several village residents fired at them and threw stones, prompting the soldiers to return fire, which killed three and wounded several others.
The IDF said five settlers were arrested and handed over to the police. All five were released the following morning after being cleared of any suspicion, according to the […] Police.
On Thursday, following the funerals of the Palestinians killed in Kafr Malik, dozens of settlers attacked residents of the nearby village of Turmus Ayya. Palestinians from neighboring villages arrived in an attempt to repel the attackers, who tried to enter homes and set fire to the fields.
"Dozens of young men stood on the road, forming a human wall," a Turmus Ayya resident told Haaretz, adding that the soldiers only fired warning shots into the air after the Palestinians began pushing the settlers back.
ETA:
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said following Friday night's settler attack on IDF reservists that he "strongly condemns" the assault.
"I call on law enforcement authorities to act immediately, identify all those involved and bring them to justice, just as would have been done anywhere else," he said.
"Israel will not allow violence or the taking of the law into one's own hands," he added.
(Source.)