PM, defense chiefs condemn settler attack on soldiers; suspects try to torch police post

Israel’s prime minister and defense chiefs on Saturday issued strong condemnations against an attack by a group of West Bank settlers on Israeli soldiers the previous night, days after a deadly settler attack on Palestinians at the same location.

Friday night saw throngs of rioting settlers attack soldiers, including a high-ranking officer, at the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik near Ramallah, after the forces arrived there to prevent them from rampaging in the village. Six Israelis were arrested following the violence.

On Saturday, a police outpost was vandalized by settlers in what authorities said was an apparent act of revenge for the arrest of the six suspects accused in the nighttime attack. The assailants tried to torch the police post in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, causing damage to the door, and spray-painted “revenge fire” on it, according to police.

Police said officers were dispatched “to locate the lawbreakers,” adding that an investigation was opened. No injuries were reported. “This is a grave and violent incident, which constitutes a clear crossing of a red line against the rule of law and sovereignty,” said a statement from the force.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement denouncing the nighttime attack, saying Israel “is a country of laws and no one can take the law into their own hands.”

He also called for an investigation “to bring to justice anyone who violated the law and acted against our soldiers.”

“These people are a small minority who do not represent the absolute majority of settlers, who are law-abiding and serve in the IDF and security forces,” Netanyahu argued.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir condemned the attack as well while speaking with the commander of the Binyamin Regional Brigade’s 7114th Battalion, who was assaulted, the military said.

Zamir also spoke with the commander of the Binyamin Brigade.

בעקבות אירועי הלילה בבנימין – יהודים ניסו להצית מבנה בשימוש משטרת בית אל, וריססו עליו כתובת: ״נקמה״.

גורם ביטחוני: ״תמימות אין פה״. pic.twitter.com/TlOu52WQFL

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) June 28, 2025

“The chief of staff stated that he fully supports the conduct and actions of the battalion and brigade and strongly condemns any harm to IDF soldiers,” the military said in a statement.

In response to the incident, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he “strongly condemns the grave acts of violence and the attack on IDF soldiers.”

“I call on law enforcement authorities to act immediately to locate all those who engaged in violence and bring them to justice, as is done everywhere,” Katz said.

He also appealed “to the rabbis and settlement leaders to strongly condemn and disavow these acts of violence.”

“The State of Israel will not tolerate violence and taking the law into one’s own hands, and will not allow harm to IDF soldiers who bravely fight against Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria and protect the security of the settlers day and night,” he added.

Not all who condemned the attack were unequivocal in their support of the IDF troops who had been at the scene, however, as right-wing officials fumed that troops had ostensibly used live fire while defending themselves from the rampaging settlers.

In a post on X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the attack, saying that “anyone who harms IDF soldiers is fighting against the settlements, not for them,” but also criticized the IDF for its alleged response.

“The IDF’s live fire against Jews is a forbidden and dangerous crossing of a red line which requires an in-depth investigation,” the far-right Religious Zionism leader wrote.

“The incident must be investigated independently and thoroughly,” he adds. “Lessons must be learned, and those responsible must be held accountable.”

The head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing settlement municipalities in the West Bank also lashed out at the IDF.

“An incident that begins with enforcing an order for a closed military zone and ends with live fire at a 14-year-old must immediately be investigated,” Omer Rahamim wrote on X, referring to an unconfirmed report of a teenage settler being injured by IDF gunfire.

“The Israel Defense Forces doesn’t shoot at Jews!”

The IDF said “no live fire was directed at civilians” near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik, and that the battalion commander who operated in the area, and was assaulted by settlers, did not fire live rounds at all.

Wednesday attack

Dozens of settlers had attacked the village days earlier. Three Palestinians were shot dead and seven more injured in that attack, the Palestinian Authority health ministry reported on Wednesday.

Footage from Kafr Malik on Wednesday showed several homes and cars torched in the attack. Settlers also hurled stones at residents and property during the attack, according to witnesses who spoke to Palestinian media.

Troops were dispatched to the scene, leading to clashes and further violence between the rampaging settlers, Palestinian residents and soldiers. The army later said troops opened fire in some cases in response to shooting by Palestinian gunmen and rioters hurling stones.

Five Israeli suspects were detained by Israeli troops following the incident but were promptly released and told they were no longer suspects in the case, Haaretz reported.

Friday attack

On Friday night, a group of at least seven settlers began rioting at Kafr Malik again, followed by the arrival of another 70 a short while later, according to an IDF investigation.

IDF forces arrived at the scene to stop the fresh riots.

“Upon the arrival of the forces, dozens of Israeli civilians hurled stones toward them and physically and verbally assaulted the soldiers, including the battalion commander,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that the assailants “vandalized and damaged security forces’ vehicles, and attempted to ram them.”

“The IDF and its soldiers face many challenges. Undermining the rule of law and the use of violence by a radical minority harms security and stability in the area,” the statement added.

The battalion commander was filmed during the incident telling the settlers, “We are here all day, every day instead of looking after civilians because of you.”

The IDF dispatched troops and police officers to the scene on Friday night. The group then began to attack the forces, hurling stones at them. Security forces responded with riot dispersal means, injuring one with a sponge grenade, the IDF said.

Shortly before midnight, settlers physically assaulted commanders at the scene, including choking and beating one. No soldiers required hospitalization.

The settlers also slashed the tires of a police cruiser.

Half an hour later, a vehicle with several Israelis in it tried to ram security forces, while a group of some 30 settlers again hurled stones at the forces.

The soldiers in this case responded with live fire in the air.

Simultaneously, five vehicles being driven by settlers intentionally rammed into an army vehicle that was blocking the road, the army said, adding that damage was caused to the vehicle but there were no injuries.

Later, another IDF vehicle was vandalized, with the tires slashed, and a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a different army car. No injuries were reported, but damage was caused to both vehicles, according to the military.

Six suspects were detained and handed over to police following the incidents.

The Shin Bet security service said it would not take part in the investigation, leaving the matter to the police, according to Army Radio. The agency reportedly described the incident as a “public order issue” rather than a premeditated act.

The IDF on Saturday night said it was investigating reports that a teenage settler was injured by live fire during an attack on soldiers.

Overnight Friday-Saturday, a 14-year-old was taken from the Ramallah area to the hospital in light condition after being hit by a bullet in his torso.

The IDF said that in the area of the violence near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik, “no live fire was conducted toward Israeli civilians.”

“The battalion commander who operated in the area did not fire live rounds at all,” the IDF said, referring to the officer who was assaulted by the settlers.

In a nearby area at the same time, settlers hurled stones at an army vehicle, and troops fired three warning shots in the air in response, according to the military.

“It is being looked into if there is a relation between the incident and the claim that an Israeli civilian was hurt by live fire,” the IDF says.

‘An existential threat to Israel’

Katz previously said that acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are not terrorism. He also ended the policy of administrative detentions against extremist settlers while leaving them in place for Palestinians.

The Democrats party chair, Yair Golan, said violent Jewish extremism was an “existential threat” to Israel.

“Maybe it is not in the headlines, but the most serious existential threat to the State of Israel is not from Iran or Yemen, but from home,” he wrote on X. “Kahanist, nationalist, and fanatical Israel is deliberately working to dismantle Jewish and democratic Israel.”

He said violence against innocent Palestinians and against IDF soldiers was “not a fringe phenomenon” but a “dangerous current that has taken a deep hold, even around the cabinet table.”

Golan said Israel stands at a “crossroads” where it can remain a Jewish and democratic state or go down the route of extremism and messianism.

Settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank have been taking place on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity in recent months, sparking mounting sanctions from Western governments.

The head of the Israel Police’s West Bank division is currently under investigation for allegedly ignoring settler violence to curry favor in the eyes of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He was allowed to return to his post, despite the ongoing investigation.