A home and cars on fire in Huwara (Photo: @edokonrad - Twitter)

See It: Samaria Spirals Out Of Control After Palestinian Kills Israeli Brothers

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The Judean Staff
National

After two Israeli brothers were murdered driving on highway 60 through the Palestinian town of Huwara, chaos descended on Samaria as Israeli extremists came to the town to exact their revenge. According to Palestinian authorities in Ramallah, several different attacks by Israelis in several Palestinian communities in Judea and Samaria have caused significant damage to homes and businesses. Earlier in the day, brothers Hillel (22) and Yigal (20) Yaniv from the Samarian community of Har Bracha were killed in a shooting attack as they were driving on a dual-use road just south of Nablus.

Security officials in Israel confirmed that dozens of Palestinians were injured in the various reprisal attacks. In Huwara, the epicenter of the riots, houses were set ablaze and Israeli security forces are helping to rescue Palestinians from the homes that are engulfed in fire.

Shortly after 11:00 p.m. IST, the Israeli forces gained control of the riots - and after assessing the situation, the IDF decided to reinforce their forces in Judea and Samaria. At the same time, due to fears of an escalation in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant ordered an increase in the security threat level in all areas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video following the events in which he said: "A terrible disaster happened today. I would like to send my condolences to the Yaniv family who lost two of their dear sons, may God save their blood. The Israel Defense Forces and security forces are currently in pursuit of the killer. We will find him, we will capture him, we will deal with him.”

"Even when the blood is hot and the spirits are hot, I ask you not to take the law into your own hands. I ask to let the IDF and the security forces do their job, and I remind you that in the last few weeks, they have eliminated dozens of terrorists and prevented dozens of attacks. Let the IDF complete the chase, don't take the law into your hands and together we will defeat terrorism."

Defense Minister Galant also called for calm in a statement that said: "Even at the end of a difficult and painful day, in which two young brothers were murdered by a vile terrorist, I call on the citizens of Israel: do not take the law into your hands. The violations of (law and) order in Huwara endanger the citizens and harm the activities of the security forces in the hunt for terrorists. I trust my commanders and soldiers of the IDF, and it is certain that they will put their hands on the murderers."

The Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Defense Bezalel Smotrich who controls much of the civil administration in Judea and Samaria joined his colleagues in trying to calm the situation and said: "My fellow settlers, the pain is great, but believe me we are working hard to provide a real answer to terrorism, both militarily and settler. Since the terrible attack, we have only been busy with this. But we must not take the law into our hands and create a dangerous anarchy that could spiral out of control and cost human lives. Let us as a political echelon formulate the answer and let the IDF succeed."

On the other hand, the head of the opposition, Knesset Member Yair Lapid said: "Smotrich's militias set out to burn Huwara in order to torpedo the summit in Aqaba of Netanyahu and Gallant. This government is dangerous for Israel's security."

President Isaac Herzog said: "Taking the law into our own hands, riots and violence against the innocent - are not our way and I strongly condemn it. We must allow the IDF, the Israel Police and the security forces to capture the despicable terrorist (who killed the Yaniv brothers) and restore order immediately."

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, among the many events that they are defining as hate crimes, at least 20 cases of suffocation of Palestinians following smoke inhalation were recorded. In addition, the Palestinians reported a shooting death in the town of Za’atra, a serious injury from being hit by a stone, and a minor injury from being hit by a metal rod in Huwara. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Palestinians have once again set fire to Joseph's tomb in Nablus.

According to the information from Israeli sources, during the revenge attacks, more than 15 houses and 30 vehicles belonging to Palestinians were set on fire. The personnel of the Coordination and Liaison Directorate for Nablus in the Israeli office of Civil Administration helped to rescue Palestinians from six houses that were set on fire. Forces of the IDF and the Israel Police’s Border Guard also assisted in evacuations in various arenas.

At the typically busy Yitzhar junction, Palestinians and settlers throw stones at each other. Two 16-year-old Israeli boys were slightly injured by tear gas. Three Israelis were slightly injured by stones thrown by Palestinians at the Tapuah Junction. Many forces of the IDF and the Israel Defense Forces are in various areas trying to quiet the violence and restore order.

It was also reported that a Palestinian fire truck that came to help put out fires in the Huwara area was stoned by settlers. There were no casualties in the incident, but the fire truck was damaged.

Kamal Odeh, secretary of the Fatah movement in Huwara, said: "The settlers burned about 20 houses and vehicles and destroyed property as if we were in the first intifada. The situation is very difficult, I call on the surrounding towns to help us."

The Palestinian president's office in Ramallah said without mentioning the senseless killing of the Yaniv brothers: "we condemn the acts of terrorism carried out by settlers under the auspices of the occupying forces, whose aim is to destroy and frustrate the international efforts being made to try to get out of the current crisis, and we hold the Israeli government fully responsible for this terrorism." Despite the overwhelming condemnation of the revenge attacks by leaders on both the left and the right in Israel, Mahmoud Abbas is trying to frame the events as an Israeli-sanctioned ‘pogrom’. Social media posts have used that specific word to describe the reprisal attacks.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem tried to gain a public relations advantage by calling the attacks a result of fear that exists in Israelis based on the effectiveness of Palestinian terror. He said, "this terrorism is an expression of the state of panic and fear that dominates the occupation and the settlers. Due to the steadfastness of our people and the bravery of our unruly youth in the West Bank, we call on our people to confront the settlers and unite The Palestinians."

In accordance with the assessment of the situation after the attack and the riots, the IDF decided to reinforce two additional battalions to the Judea and Samaria sectors. It was also decided that as part of the increased security activity in the Nablus region, security checks on the traffic routes to and from the city will be increased. As of yesterday evening, the Viper Battalion of the paratroopers began to reinforce the forces, and today the Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade will also join.

Seemingly trying to stoke the flames of the far-right extremist Israeli segment of the population, the deputy head of the Samaria Regional Council, David (David) Ben Zion wrote in a tweet that he posted after the attack: "Here in Huwara, the blood of our children, the residents of Samaria who were murdered here, has been spilled on the road. The village of Huwara should be erased today. Enough with the talk of building and strengthening the settlement, the deterrence that was lost must be returned immediately and there is no room for mercy." IN a telling sign that perhaps negated his own statement, the chairman of the Religious Zionism party, Minister Bezalel Smotrich, liked the tweet.

Then Ben Zion wrote in another tweet: "The guys in Huwara are behaving exactly like guys whose two brothers were slaughtered in cold blood today in Huwara from point blank range. The thought that a Jew in Samaria is an exiled Jew who will get stabbed in the heart and politely say thank you is childish naivety."

At the same time, the Minister of Transportation Miri Regev ordered following the attack to immediately advance the infrastructure works on the Huwara bypass road, so that the teams will be increased, and the works will be carried out day and night accompanied by security and in coordination with the IDF in order to significantly shorten the project times.

The murder of the Yaniv brothers also emboldened another group of Israelis to go up to the illegal outpost of Eviatar that had been evacuated by Israeli forces. "After today's hard news in Samaria, we could not continue our daily routine and the only thing required is to return to Eviatar," said Tahia Haim, a resident of Eviatar. We returned to Eviatar as promised to us by all the coalition parties."

Daniela Weiss, chairman of the Nachala movement, said: "The families and yeshiva have been waiting over a year to return to Eviatar. The reality in which the Israeli government allows the Palestinian Authority with one hand to take over the nation's lands and with the other hand to murder our children is unacceptable. The time has come for the 'right wing' government to build hundreds of new settlements in Judea and Samaria."

After about an hour and a half, the Border Patrol began to evacuate those who had gone up to the outpost. Minutes before the evacuation began, the hardline right-wing Minister of National Missions Orit Strock issued a statement stating that after the attack she was "encouraged by the news of the return to Eviatar."

The left-wing NGO "Yesh Din" also chimed in to try and seize relevance in what was a chaotic and grim day in Israel for many reasons, said in response also using the Palestinian language of ‘Pogrom’: "The State of Israel makes revenge an official policy - unrestrained pogroms in Huwara, Borin, Yassuf and Salafit, over 100 injured and now also an illegal settlement in Eviatar. All this under the auspices of the state. The government and the security forces allow this horror."

In June 2021, an agreement was signed between the representatives of the government at the time and the settlers, led by the chairman of the Nachala Weiss movement and the head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan, the main point of which was that in exchange for the peaceful evacuation of the settlers who settled on Eviatar Hill in Samaria, Defense Minister at the time Benny Gantz would promote the establishment of the settlement. However, with the exception of a land survey Nothing was done and signatories claim the agreement was violated.

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