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

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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