Israeli Police Clash with Jewish Settlers in West Bank

UNSPLASH/Robert ILLUSTRATION Bye

JAKARTA - Israeli police clashed with Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank as they dismantled an illegal settler outpost.

In a video seen by Reuters on Wednesday, July 3, a police excavator demolished a makeshift structure at the outpost. The settlers sat across a small road to block police access, but officers held them back from the road.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities on the operation.

Israel is under international pressure to curb the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state alongside Gaza.

The outposts, located in rural areas, are illegal under Israeli and international law.

Israeli police have in the past taken action against some illegal settlement activity in the West Bank, but Palestinian groups say in many cases police have failed to enforce the law, especially since the start of the war in Gaza.