Police question far-right settler rabbi on suspicion of inciting attacks on Palestinians

Police are probing a far-right rabbi on suspicion of inciting settler attacks against Palestinians in the northern West Bank, law enforcement announces.

Rabbi Menachem Ben Shachar, a prominent settler activist from the Givat Ronen outpost, is suspected of disseminating “incendiary and extremist messages encouraging serious violence against Palestinians,” police say.

He and another suspect were detained earlier today for interrogation, but have since been released under restrictive conditions. Police came this morning to his home and seized several computers in his possession.

Police launched the investigation following a spate of revenge attacks in May on the Palestinian village of Bruqin, which saw settlers torch homes, cars and injure around a dozen residents.

Settlers descended on Bruqin after a Palestinian attacker from the northern West Bank town murdered Tzeela Gez as she was en route with her husband to give birth in the hospital. Her infant son was delivered by emergency C-section, but died two weeks later.

The joint probe into Ben Shachar and his associate is ongoing, under the direction of the West Bank district police’s investigations and intelligence unit alongside the Shin Bet.

Moshe Polsky, from the right-wing legal aid group Honenu, is representing both Ben Shachar and the additional suspect.

Honenu condemns the arrest, and claims that “someone in the police is undermining the policy of the political leadership” overseeing law enforcement.

The remark appears to be a veiled appeal to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an ardent supporter of the settler movement who has vocally discouraged police action against Jewish extremist violence while in office.