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Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the violent riots that erupted in the West Bank overnight, calling for the Jewish extremists responsible to be persecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
More than 100 Israeli rioters clashed with security forces near the Palestinian villages of Jalud and Kusra in the West Bank, leaving three Border Police officers were lightly wounded.
The violence broke out as security forces attempted to return a Palestinian family to their home after they had been forced to flee after being subjected to "several incidents of nationalist crime", the IDF said.
The operation had been coordinated in advance, but was abandoned because of the violence, according to the military.
Rioters blocked roads, set tyres on fire and threw rocks at security personnel, with a security forces vehicle was damaged in the clashes. The riot ended at around 2.30am, according to IDF reserve officers.
Netanyahu said this morning: "I strongly condemn the violent riots in [the northern part of the West Bank] overnight and the harm inflicted on the security forces who arrived at the scene to maintain law and order.”
The prime minister added: "The fringe group of rioters does not represent the law-abiding settler community in [the West Bank]; it causes them immense injustice and interferes with our forces in carrying out their mission."
The clashes came amid heightened tensions across the West Bank, where the military has reinforced its presence amid concerns about Israeli settler violence and the threat of Palestinian terrorist attacks.
“IDF troops, Border Police and Israel Police reinforced the roads, hiking areas, known friction points and communities,” a military source in Central Command told The Jerusalem Post.
“There is clear tension, and it is strongly felt on the ground,” the source added, saying that security assessments were being conducted throughout the day.
The latest violence follows a series of attacks on Palestinian property attributed to groups of Israeli settlers in recent days.
It also comes on the back of three successive terror attacks against Jews last week, including one which seriously injured the son of Israel's envoy to the US.
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