JERUSALEM (JTA) — Residents of Yitzhar stoned an army ambulance near their West Bank settlement, which has a history of radical activity.
They attacked the vehicle on Saturday after it was called to Yitzhar in the northern West Bank to care for another resident who reported being dehydrated. The ambulance’s windshield was cracked in the attack, according to the IDF.
The incident came a day after residents laid down metal spikes in the road leading to the settlement to deter military vehicles, according to reports.
The ambulance incident “crosses a red line,” the IDF said in a statement. “We emphasize that harm of any kind of harm to the security forces preventing them from fulfilling their duties and protecting the residents of the area is grave,”
“For the IDF, this event crosses a red line,” the army said in a statement, condemning the attack. “The IDF will continue to act to enforce the law and order in Judea and Samaria,” the biblical name for the West Bank commonly used in Israel.
Yitzhar is known as the home of the Hilltop Youth, a radical religious group that opposes the state and the army and seeks to make Israel a theocracy. The army has cracked down on the Hilltop Youth in recent months, including barring some members from entering the West Bank for several months.
