Israelis responsible for attacks in Jit ‘will be apprehended, tried,’ Netanyahu says

Dozens of Israeli citizens, some masked, set fire to vehicles and buildings, and threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, in the town of Jit in Samaria at 8 p.m. on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces stated.

The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Border Police rushed to the village “within minutes of receiving the report, used means to disperse demonstrations and shot into the air and removed the Israeli citizens from the village,” the IDF stated, in Hebrew.

Security forces arrested an Israeli citizen and turned him over to the Israeli police, according to the IDF, which said it is investigating the report that a Palestinian was killed during the incident.

“Following the serious incident, a joint investigation was opened by the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police,” the Israeli army added in Hebrew. “The IDF condemns events of this type and the rioters, who harm security, law and order, and divert the IDF and the security forces from their main mission of thwarting terrorism and protecting the security of the residents.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that he “views with utmost severity the disturbances that took place, this evening in Jit, which included attacks on people and property by Israelis who entered the village.”

“It is the IDF and the security forces that fight terrorism, and nobody else,” he said. “Those responsible for any offense will be apprehended and tried.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote that “at a time when our troops are fighting on the frontlines, defending the State of Israel, a group of radical individuals have launched a riot, and attacked innocent people.”

“They do not represent the values of the communities living in Samaria,” Gallant added. “I strongly condemn any form of violence and fully support the IDF, ISA and Israeli Police in fulfilling their roles and addressing this issue. Violent, radical riots are the opposite of every code and value upheld by the State of Israel.” (The ISA is the Israel Securities Authority.)

“I am appalled by yesterday’s violent attack by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank,” Jack Lew, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, wrote on Friday. (The Biden administration and some countries and organizations refer to Judea and Samaria as the “West Bank.”)

“These attacks must stop and the criminals be held to account,” Lew added.

‘No impunity’

“We condemn the violence of extremist settlers who attacked and set fires in a Palestinian village in the West Bank yesterday, one Palestinian was killed. This violence is unacceptable and the attacks must stop immediately,” stated the German Foreign Office. “Palestinians have a right to live in safety. Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians in the West Bank, stop these attacks, and prosecute the perpetrators. There must be no impunity for such acts of violence.”

“The killing in the Palestinian village of Jit on Aug. 15 was not an isolated attack. This was a direct consequence of Israel’s settlement policy and the prevailing climate of impunity,” stated the U.N. Human Rights Office. “Since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 609 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank, including over 140 children. This needed to stop, and the key would be accountability for perpetrators. There had been very few investigations, and even those had not concluded with justice for victims and their families. There was clearly a state responsibility in this regard.”

“We are appalled by yesterday’s attacks by extremist settlers on a Palestinian village in the West Bank,” stated Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. “These attacks have rightly been condemned in the strongest terms by both the president and prime minister of Israel. The extremists responsible must now be swiftly brought to justice.”

The American Jewish Committee condemned “strongly” the “actions of the extremist Israeli settlers who violently attacked the Palestinian village of Jit in the West Bank, killing one person, injuring others and burning cars and houses.”

“Their actions, which have been condemned by numerous Israeli officials, including the prime minister and president, contradict Jewish and Israeli values. Security forces must swiftly act to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators,” the AJC said. “Our thoughts are with the victims and families of this senseless violence.”

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, and Ozel Vatik, head of the Kedumim Council, stated that “we wish to say in a clear way in no uncertain terms: Even after the throwing of rocks, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands,” per Arutz Sheva.

The two suggested that following a report of rock throwing on the road near Jit, outsiders—who they said are “unwelcome guests”—came from outside of Samaria “through bizarre WhatsApp groups in order to cause disorder and violence.”

“A group arrived of teenagers, most of whom are not from Samaria at all. A group of Israelis entered the village of Jit, and as a result, severe clashes developed between Arabs from the village, which included mutual attacks,” the two said. “Those who come to cause disorder and violence—do not come to Samaria.”

“We are already dealing here with terrorism, political difficulties from within the country and abroad, and we do not need your acts of violence and the bad name you give to the communities in Judea and Samaria, and to the entire State of Israel,” they added.

Dagan and Vatik claimed that “the young Arab who was killed during the incident is a definite supporter of terrorism, who was photographed with a weapon and posted on networks supporting the murderous Lions’ Den terrorist organization and acts of murder and terrorism.”

“But we stress the obvious,” they said. “The handling of terrorists and supporters of terrorism must be left to the IDF. Violent acts like we saw in Jit must not happen and have no place.” PJC