Left-wing activists and Jewish settler youth clash at outpost
Five young people documenting illegal settlement construction hurt after reportedly being attacked by West Bank settlers
Five left-wing activists documenting illegal settlement construction said they were injured in an attack by a group of Jewish settler youth.
A settler leader countered that the activists provoked residents, a claim denied by the activists.
The activists from the NGO Ta’ayush: Arab Jewish Partnership were taking photographs on Saturday in the unauthorised outpost of Mitzpe Yair, located in the South Hebron Hills. The group said in a post on Facebook that its activists were attacked with “stones, sticks and more.”
Five of the activists who suffered light injuries were taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for treatment. The group also said that its camera equipment was damaged.
The incident occurred in front of Israeli soldiers, who did not intervene, the group charges.
Yohai Damari, chairman of the Har Hebron Regional Council, told Israeli media that members of the NGO entered private homes in the outpost and provoked the residents, something the group denies.
“The activists of the anarchist Ta’ayush organisation chose to disrupt the Shabbat peace of the residents of Mitzpe Yair, entering their private homes and filming there while violating a closed military zone order, all in order to create a provocation. Any person in their right mind would act to protect his home and his family and remove the invading criminals when they came into their house,” Damari said in a statement.
The IDF spokesman’s unit said in a statement that the Ta’ayush activists went from the construction site to the settlement, where “friction” developed between the activists and settlers. IDF soldiers declared the area a closed military zone in order to deescalate the tension.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
