Confrontation near Yitzhar (file)
Confrontation near Yitzhar (file)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Dozens of security personnel raided the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva in Yitzhar in Samaria, yeshiva in the middle of the night to arrest one youth, only after they searched every room.

Witnesses said that an Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) agent, known to activists for his threats against activists and attempt to draft them as informers, checked the wanted youth’s room but did not arrest him at the time.

The legal aid organization Honenu said that the agent and other officers searched every room in the yeshiva’s dormitory and then returned to the suspect's room where the agent “suddenly” recognized the youth, who was wanted for allegedly not having appeared at a scheduled court hearing.

“How is that we did not notice him earlier,” the agent reportedly said. “It must be because he was without his glasses.”

Police and Shin Bet forces arrived in several vehicles including a bus, and closed off traffic at the entrance to Yitzhar, where the yeshiva is located.

Honenu said that many of the security forces violated the law by not wearing identity tags, preventing their being named in case of violence against activists.

The security forces also tried to prevent students from taking pictures, declaring that it is against the law to photograph Shin Bet officers.

Honenu said that dozens of raids have been conducted at the yeshiva, usually leading to arrests but often without further indictments.

The organization said the raids and arrests are carried out “to satisfy the political echelon and the media in light of incitement against nationalists. Graffiti is called an act of terror while Arab firebomb and rock attacks are met with silence from authorities.

“It is clear that there is a twisted concept of morality.”