Some 100 members of Hasidic cult enter West Bank Palestinian village; 5 detained over vandalism

Around 100 members of an ultra-Orthodox cult, led by convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland, entered a Palestinian village in the West Bank overnight.

Police say that some of the men carried out acts of vandalism in Kifl Haris, with vehicles damaged.

According to tradition, the village is the site where the biblical Joshua and Caleb are believed buried.

The Haredi men reportedly entered the village to protest the lack of trips for them to the holy site under military escort.

According to Channel 12, some of the cult members said that Palestinian residents threw stones at them and two were injured, but refused to go to the hospital for fear of being arrested for draft-dodging.

“Most of the guys who were there were deserters, so even when violence broke out, we didn’t want to call the police or Magen David Adom, so as not to get arrested,” one tells the Ynet news site.

Police say that five people aged 16-20 were arrested on suspicion of carrying out acts of vandalism in the village.

הפרגוד: דרמה לילית בכפר כיפל חארס שבשומרון: כ-100 חסידי ברסלב נכנסו הלילה למתחם קברי יהושע בן נון וכלב בן יפונה, במחאה על מגבלות חופש הפולחן במקום ובדרישה לאפשר גישה חופשית וקבועה לציונים הקדושים.

במהלך שהותם בכפר הותקפו החסידים בידי פלסטינים מקומיים, ושניים מהם נפצעו באורח… pic.twitter.com/XUDyyKWAUX

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) July 14, 2026

آثار اعتداءات المـ'ستوطنين على ممتلكات المواطنين في بلدة كفل حارس شمال غرب سلفيت الليلة الماضية pic.twitter.com/NKnSM84Ewj

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) July 14, 2026