IDF arrests 4 settlers over attempt to break into West Bank army base

Soldiers arrest four Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank after two of them attempted to break into a military base on Thursday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces says.

According to the military, two suspects were spotted climbing the fence into the Samaria Regional Brigade’s headquarters near Nablus. When soldiers were dispatched to arrest them, the pair fled the scene, with the IDF troops giving chase.

The two suspected infiltrators were caught and arrested, along with two other settlers who were found nearby and were suspected of being part of the same group.

The IDF says all four have been handed over to police for investigation.

The highly irregular incident came amid growing unrest in the West Bank, with young nationalist Israelis — referred to as hilltop youth for the hilltops on which they often set up illegal outposts — clashing regularly with Israeli security forces and attacking Palestinians in recent weeks.