From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Katz condemns settler rampage in West Bank, calls on settler leaders to condemn violence
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Responding to last night’s settler attack on two West Bank Palestinian villages of al-Funduq and Jinsafut, Defense Minister Israel Katz tells the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he “strongly condemns any attack and violence against Palestinians” and regrets the shooting of two Israeli men by a police officer during the attack.
“Law enforcement authorities must enforce the law and arrest and prosecute anyone who violates the law. There should be a criminal procedure and not administrative orders, and settlers should be treated the same as [people involved in] any other incident anywhere in the State of Israel,” he says.
He calls on settler leaders to “condemn any violence of this kind.”
Katz warns of an increasing threat to settlements, stating that “our enemies recognize here now that this is the only arena that is open today.”
“We are committed and the IDF is committed, in accordance with my directive, to act forcefully to protect all the settlers and settlements against Palestinian terrorism and to act with great force in order to thwart terrorism,” he adds.
The Times of Israel Community.