JERUSALEM (JTA) — Following a confrontation at a West Bank military base, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli security forces to "act aggressively" against Jewish activists who attack soldiers.
The directive issued Tuesday came after West Bank settlers and right-wing activists vandalized the base late Monday night after gathering at a nearby outpost following rumors that it was to be dismantled..
The Israeli activists, who some critics have called terrorists, set tires alight and vandalized army vehicles, and threw rocks at soldiers at the Efraim Regional Brigade’s base near the Palestinian city of Kalkilya. They also threw rocks at passing Palestinian cars. Most of the activists reportedly were youths.
"This incident deserves all condemnation," according to a statement issued by Netanyahu. "The security forces need to concentrate on defending our citizens and not on such outrageous lawbreaking."
A statement issued Tuesday by the Defense Ministry on behalf of Ehud Barak said that Barak "views the string of violent activities carried out by criminal groups of extremists in Judea and Samaria with the utmost seriousness. These activities have the characteristic of homegrown terror and will not be tolerated."
An Israeli officer was lightly wounded in the attack.
Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents West Bank settlements, condemned the attack, as did the right-wing group Im Tirtzu.
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America on Tuesday also condemned the attack, saying in a statement that "There is no justification for such heinous acts. Such actions undermine the security of Israel and the unity of Israeli society which itself is essential to that security.
"We call upon leaders of all segments of Israel and the Jewish community to conduct debates over policy through the political process and in a civil manner befitting Jewish values."
Meanwhile, Jewish activists seized several buildings near the border with Jordan to protest its interference in Temple Mount affairs. Approximately 30 right-wing activists entered the buildings — abandoned churches, according to Haaretz — accompanied by a television crew.
The activists reportedly wanted to send a message to Jordan to stay out of matters regarding the Temple Mount. Israel and Jordan have been involved in talks to replace the temporary wooden Mughrabi Bridge, which was erected in 2004 to replace a damaged stone walkway. The bridge was closed Monday after engineers said it could collapse or catch fire.
Jordan has called on Israel to refrain from destroying the bridge, saying it will change the character of the holy site.
Israeli security forces evacuated the protesters.
A Hamas spokesman on Monday called Israel’s closure of the Mughrabi Bridge "a violent act that amounts to a declaration of religious war on the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.”
Long resented by Muslims, the bridge links the Western Wall to the Temple Mount and had allowed tourists to visit the latter’s Al Aksa and Dome of the Rock mosques.
The structure was to have been demolished last month to make way for a new, permanent walkway, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed the project in a move widely seen as designed to avoid stirring anti-Israel passions in Arab states rocked by political turmoil.
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