YITZHAR AND YAD YAIR SETTLERS COORDINATE TO ATTACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001710 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2018 TAGS: KWBG PBTS PREL PHUM IS SUBJECT: YITZHAR AND YAD YAIR SETTLERS COORDINATE TO ATTACK IDF IN RESPONSE TO EFFORTS TO REMOVE OUTPOST MATERIALS REF: A. JERUSALEM 1165 ¶B. JERUSALEM 1429 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 10, settlers attacked Civil Administration officials and IDF soldiers who sought to remove building materials from the West Bank outpost of Yad Yair. Following skirmishes at the outpost, settlers across the northern West Bank organized a march on the nearby IDF base at Horesh Yaron, where more settler-IDF skirmishes ensued. Settlers from Yitzhar and Bracha settlements subsequently reacted against nearby Palestinian villages. END SUMMARY Civil Administration and IDF Remove Materials from Yad Yair -------------- ¶2. (C) Former Binyamin Regional Council Chairman and Dolev settler Adi Mintz told Poloff September 10 that Civil Administration officials with IDF escort arrived at Yad Yair outpost (east of Dolev settlement and north of Ramallah) and removed cement building blocks and other materials at the site. Settler youth live in three caravans at the outpost. According to Mintz, there was a scuffle between the IDF and the settler youth, and an IDF soldier's arm was broken. Press reported another soldier was bitten by a settler's dog. Yitzhar Settlers Fight Back -------------- ¶3. (C) Mintz told Poloff that September 10 at night many settlers from the area around Yitzhar settlement and several from the Dolev settlement organized a march on the Horesh Yaron IDF base next to Dolev and fought with IDF soldiers. According to the press, settlers called the IDF soldiers "Nazis," and the local IDF commander attacked the settlers' political views. ¶4. (C) Zacharia Sadah of Rabbis for Human Rights told Poloff that in Yitzhar, approximately 25 km to the north, settlers responded to events at Yad Yair by throwing rocks at passing Palestinian cars on September 10. (Note: Settlers commonly issue text message alerts across the West Bank to notify one another of incidents. End Note). Sadah told Poloff that, on September 11, settlers from Bracha (next to Yitzhar) descended from their hilltop and shot three goats and a dog in the Palestinian village of Burin. Burin village council members confirmed this incident to Poloff. (Note: Per REF A, Bracha settlers reportedly fired projectiles toward Burin on three occasions earlier in the summer. End Note). Sadah said that, three days prior, settlers from Yitzhar descended into the village of Asira al Qabaliyah and painted stars of David on a house there, in the second such incident (REF B). Timing Connected to Olive Harvest; Level of Violence Reflects Policy Decision -------------- ¶5. (C) Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights told Poloff that he believes this resurgence of violence is connected to the upcoming olive harvest, a time of year when disputes over land and access often lead to violence. Ascherman said his organization is "nervous" about the potential for violence and is meeting with the IDF in advance of the harvest to raise their concerns. He said the IDF is conducting more training to protect the harvest than in the past. In order to reduce tension, the IDF has asked activists not to participate in the harvest, as they have in the past. Press reported August 27 that the IDF issued restraining orders to three settlers for the duration of the Palestinian olive harvest, and that settlers responded by demonstrating outside the home of Central Command General Gadi Shamni. ¶6. (C) Settler leader Benny Katsover heads a committee in Elon Moreh that drafted a new policy that aims to "raise the price" of outpost evacuation operations by creating diversions in small groups to "confuse and disperse" security forces. The policy has been proclaimed in settler newspapers in recent months, and specifically calls for blocking roads, throwing rocks, and starting fires. (Comment: Simultaneous attacks against the IDF by settlers from Yad Yair and Yitzhar September 10-11 seem to be consistent with this pre-meditated settler offensive and are the most aggressive yet under this new policy. End Comment.) Yesha Council member Aliza Herbst denounced the violent acts and told Poloff, "we're not trying JERUSALEM 00001710 002 OF 002 to defend these people - what they did is not excusable and they should be brought to justice." (Note: Radical elements amongst the settlers have recently splintered from the more mainstream Yesha council over negotiations regarding outposts and a tentative agreement with MOD over Migron outpost. End Note.) WALLES