EU condemns settler attacks in West Bank, urges accountability
The European Union has strongly condemned recent attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including assaults on European diplomats.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Border Police, and Israel Police have ramped up efforts to dismantle illegal West Bank outposts and address the surge in nationalist violence, according to Walla. Last week, the IDF's Central Command announced plans to escalate the number of evictions in the coming weeks amid ongoing security concerns.
A senior security official highlighted the complexity of the situation, citing multiple evacuations of the Taana outpost and the arrest of 15 individuals over the past week. Despite court-imposed restrictions, several of the arrested individuals returned to the site, leading to repeated evictions. The official criticized court rulings for not imposing effective penalties, alleging reluctance to punish offenders and prevent re-establishment of illegal outposts.
The security officials also condemned support given to activists harvesting olives in Palestinian-owned groves, arguing it influences extremist activists involved in attacks. All incidents occurred in Area B of the West Bank, where olive harvesting doesn't require coordination with the IDF. The IDF has deployed at dozens of locations where coordination is necessary, coordinating olive harvesting at 85 locations, with 65 protected by IDF forces.
Only at four locations was harvesting prevented due to friction. Three attacks against consular representatives occurred in olive harvesting areas within the past 24 hours.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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