Vehicles Vandalized in Palestinian Village Hours After Israel Evacuates Outpost

Two vehicles owned by a Palestinian man were vandalized Tuesday night in the West Bank by a group of Hebrew-speaking attackers, hours after the nearby illegal outpost of Ma'ale Ahuvia was evacuated.

The group smashed the windows and punctured the tires of the car and tractor owned by a resident of the Palestinian village Deir Jarir.

“I use this tractor to bring water to my children,” the owner said. He added that he wanted to file a complaint with the police but realized there were no Arabic-speaking officers – so he still has not submitted one. He says the police still have not opened an investigation.

The man said he saw at least seven people vandalizing vehicles and heard them speaking Hebrew, and that they fled once he shouted at them.

On Tuesday, Israel Border Police and the civil administration tore down structures in the Ma'ale Ahuvia outpost, which was set up after the death of Ahuvia Sandak, a 16-year-old hilltop youth who was killed in a West Bank police car chase in 2020. According to the members of the outpost, a few young people with a flock of sheep live there.

A few hours after the evacuation, left-wing activist and Rabbi Arik Ascherman reported to the Israeli Defense Forces that the outpost was being rebuilt. When he attempted to record its construction, several cars followed him and he retreated.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli Border Police and the Civil Administration tore down five mobile structures in the Homesh outpost, and five tents were seized, although the yeshiva structure and five tents surrounding it were not evacuated.

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Officials decided last week that the yeshiva structure will be only be evacuated by order of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, per the Israeli government's notice to the High Court.