Residents of the “Netzach Shmuel" outpost claim that Israel Border Police officers burned down the outpost during Shabbat without any justification.
According to them, Border Police officers arrived at the “Netzach Shmuel" hilltop outpost on Saturday afternoon in order to enforce a closed military zone order issued for the site by the commander of the Central Command, prohibiting people from remaining there.
The settlers allege that as soon as the forces arrived, they began throwing stun grenades and tear gas extensively toward them, without presenting the order or engaging in any discussion. They said they evacuated the site in accordance with the general’s order, but only minutes later were astonished to see black smoke billowing from the hill.
Residents of the hilltop outpost stated: “In the past two months, under Central Command, there has been a significant increase in enforcement actions against pioneering settlement hilltops and farms - weekly demolition campaigns, frequent use of stun grenades and tear gas without any necessity, confiscation of essential sheep herds, and now, in a severe escalation, the structures at the site were set on fire by police officers - an action that crossed every line.
“It is clear for all to see how a change in the commander’s spirit, surrendering to what they call the false ‘settler violence’ campaign, is having consequences on the ground. It seems the threshold has shifted from simple and marginal enforcement actions to an unrestrained display of force by the fighters, and there is real concern that the situation could deteriorate into loss of life, as we have unfortunately seen in past incidents.
“The settlers at these frontline outposts, who are working to abolish the Oslo Accords, are not enemies of the state, but pioneers defending the homeland and working to erase the idea of establishing a Palestinian state within the country’s territory. We are not the enemy," they added.