Israeli extremists said to torch aid trucks en route to Gaza hours after looting convoy

Extremist Israelis have torched a pair of trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Jordan to Gaza.

The trucks were sitting at the West Bank’s Tarqumiyah checkpoint after they were blocked and looted by the Israeli extremists earlier in the day.

Police had arrested four people for taking part in the illegal activity before leaving the area, allowing the far-right activists to return and torch the trucks.

Haaretz reports that the police and the IDF traded blame, with the former saying the army was responsible for guarding the trucks after the police dispersed the protesters, while the military said the entire incident fell under the police’s jurisdiction because it took place on the Israeli side of the checkpoint.

A senior security establishment official tells Haaretz that “the police turn a blind eye to the riots of lawbreakers who loot and burn the aid after receiving inside information regarding the movement of the trucks.

The official says there are forces within the police who avoid cracking down on the aid looting by right-wing extremists while others only agree to deal with the issue reluctantly.

“There is a feeling that they are trying to please someone specific in the government,” the official adds, apparently referring to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose office oversees the police and has reportedly encouraged law enforcement not to crack down on the protesters blocking aid from reaching Gaza.

The activists argue that aid should be used as leverage to bring back the hostages, while also claiming that it is being co-opted by Hamas.

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