Israeli settlers launched a new attack on the West Bank village of Tayasir on Tuesday, days after a CNN team covering the establishment of an illegal settler outpost was detained and assaulted by Israeli soldiers.
At least four Palestinians were injured in the attack, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Witnesses said Israeli settlers set fire to houses, farm sheds and vehicles.
Video obtained by CNN shows several cars and sheds engulfed in flames and thick black smoke billowing into the air. One video showing a hill above the village shows columns of black smoke rising and several vehicles and tents engulfed in flames. Images of the aftermath also show charred cars and vehicles.
According to Amer Dabak, a community leader and witness, Israeli forces responded to the incident by arriving in Tayasir and blocking fire services, ambulances and residents from reaching the scene.
“They prevented the residents from returning to their homes, but they left the settlers free to do whatever they wanted,” he added.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Settlers had already raided the area five days earlier, assaulting several residents and setting up an illegal outpost in the village. CNN witnessed Israeli forces waiting idly by the new outpost, instead detaining multiple Palestinians and CNN crew members.
Tayasil residents said Israeli forces dismantled the outpost the next day, but it was re-established by settlers in another part of the village.
The rebuilt outpost is illegal under Israeli and international law, but Israeli authorities have not yet dismantled it.
Israeli authorities have confirmed that settlers have returned to the area. “Additional evacuations will be carried out in accordance with operational priorities and subject to the approval of the political hierarchy,” Israel’s Coordinator of Territorial Government Activities (COGAT) said in response to CNN’s questions.
CNN’s report received significant attention in Israeli media and sparked debate in Israeli society. The Israeli army chief of staff subsequently suspended the operations of the relevant battalions, dismissed one soldier who had talked about “revenge” against the Palestinians, and reprimanded several commanders.
But several Israeli officials, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, condemned the suspension, and 31 right-wing lawmakers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition wrote a letter on Tuesday demanding the battalion’s redeployment.
“The removal of an entire battalion from active duty, even temporarily as a result of the CNN article, undermines the trust needed between the military system and the Reserves at a time when we need them more than ever,” the lawmakers wrote.
Meanwhile, widespread accountability for the role of Israeli soldiers in supporting settlers and concrete action against rampant Israeli settler violence remains lacking.
No one has been arrested for the brutal assault on 75-year-old Abdullah Daraghmeh, who was attacked in his home during an early morning raid on settlers last week.
Daraghmeh’s wife, Amna, died on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack, according to his son Sami. She said the attack on her husband had affected her mentally and physically.
