Israeli forces raid Jericho, remove settlers
Published yesterday (updated) 22/02/2010 14:33
Jericho - Ma'an - Israeli forces raided Jericho in the occupied West Bank late Sunday night, to remove dozens of settlers who forced their way into the Palestinian city hours earlier in a bid to establish an Israeli presence in the area.
The activists passed through an Israeli military checkpoint in order to access the city, which they say is home to an ancient synagogue.
An Israeli military spokesman said entrance to the city, supposedly under security control of the Palestinian Authority, is illegal under Israeli law. He accused the settler activists of rioting, and said the situation was soon brought under control.
"The IDF denounces any incident where Israeli civilians break the law and will operate accordingly to bring those responsible to justice," the spokesman said. The 35 Israeli citizens were transferred to police custody, he added.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the settlers were marching with the goal of "renewing the Jewish settlement in Jericho." Among those participating in the disturbance were Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari and extreme right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, the newspaper said.
The Israeli military tried without success to stop the activists from reaching Jericho, initially using force, Haaretz reported, but eventually "the soldiers decided to join the march and just serve as security."Source
"IDF Denounces any incident in which Israelis break the law, etc." Give me a break. IDF cannot be taken seriously when making either ethical or moral claims. Note that the troops joined in on the terrorist march on Jericho.
