A serious incident that occurred on Saturday between settlers and IDF soldiers on Rosh Yosef Hill escalated this morning (Sunday) into a clash of versions between the sides.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office reported that an IDF force carrying out a military mission near the settlement of Itamar in Samaria was attacked by Israeli rioters at the scene with violence and stone-throwing, to the point of endangering the force. In response, the force responded by using tear gas, riot dispersal devices, and firing into the air to disperse the rioters.
Three suspects were later arrested and transferred to the police for questioning. "The IDF views the use of violence against its forces very seriously and will continue to enforce law and order in cooperation with the rest of the security forces," the IDF spokesman said.
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However, the organization "Honenu", which assists detainees, presents a completely different picture:
According to them, an IDF force that arrived during the Sabbath to evacuate an outpost near the settlement of Itamar fired tear gas and even live ammunition at boys, some of whom were minors, who were present. According to the boys' testimonies, the live ammunition was even close to the heads of some of the minors.
The boys moved to the Rosh Yosef outpost about three weeks ago, built a building there, and are living there.
At the start of the Sabbath, an IDF force, under the command of Shomron Brigade Commander Gilad Amit, accompanied by a military escort, arrived to evacuate the outpost and destroy the structure. An attempt that was unsuccessful.
During the Sabbath, the Shomron Brigade arrived at the scene again, accompanied by additional forces. The brigade attempted, for an unclear reason, to arrest one of the boys - which included a confrontation between the force and some of those present at the scene. During the confrontation, the soldiers threw a tear gas grenade and sprayed additional gas at the boys at the scene.
According to the boys' testimonies, at some point one of the soldiers began shooting in the air and at some point directly above the boys' heads.
Following the shooting, the boys fled the scene, and three boys who were there and did not flee were arrested.
One of the boys who lives there said: "They shot right over our heads, one of the guys had to bend down so that the shots wouldn't hit him. While they were shooting, the soldiers shouted and cursed us in a disgraceful manner. Also about a week ago, at the beginning of the seventh holiday of Passover, the army arrived and tried to evacuate us, and the next day - on Shabbat - the Border Police arrived and broke our things and equipment, took our water and food. We came to settle the Land of Israel, with God's help another settlement will be established here, the army's conduct will not break us.".
The arrested boys were interrogated last night (Saturday) in the Samaria region and will likely be brought during the day for a hearing at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court.
Attorney Yossi Nadav, who represents the boys on behalf of the Honenu organization, arrived at the police station to assist the boys.
Attorney Nadav heard from the boys about the serious shooting incident: "My clients were in a place that apparently at some point was declared a closed military area, or a nearby area. My clients did not resist arrest, cooperated, and did not flee the scene. The shooting incident is very serious, and we expect the IDF to investigate the matter with the utmost seriousness.".
