Injuries, 2 arrests as Border Police clash with settlers

According to the Border Police, a settler vehicle tried to evade the checkpoint, swerved, and intentionally hit an officer.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Two people, a Border Police officer and a settler, were injured in clashes early Wednesday morning in the town of Yitzhar in Judea and Samaria. Two settlers were arrested.

On Tuesday evening, Border Police set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Kumi Uri outpost, just outside of Yitzhar. The checkpoint was established to check that people entering the outpost were in fact residents.

According to the Border Police, a settler vehicle tried to evade the checkpoint, swerved, and intentionally hit an officer, knocking him off his feet.

The officer was lightly injured and received medical treatment at the scene. Other officers took control of the settler’s vehicle and arrested the driver.

The resident claimed his vehicle was struck by a Border Police vehicle. He said that when he was inspecting the damage to his vehicle, Border Police officers attacked and arrested him.

A police statement said that after the arrest, dozens of masked settlers blocked the Border Police vehicle’s path, attempting to stop the transfer of the arrested settler to the police station for further questioning.

One settler, who had attempted to interfere in the arrest, was also arrested. The settler was injured while resisting arrest, but his condition is unclear.

Yitzhar, some 10 kilometers southwest of Nablus (Shechem), has been the site of previous clashes between residents and security forces.

In April 2020, hundreds of IDF soldiers and Border Police were sent to Yitzhar raze six structures illegally built in the town’s outposts.

During the demolition, one resident of Kumi Uri, Neria Zarug, was arrested. He was recently released from administrative detention after an arrest in January for refusing to evacuate his home for demolition.

Zarug’s home in Kumi Uri was destroyed, along with one other home in the outpost.

The additional four structures that were demolished were in the outposts of Kippa Sruga and Tekuma.