Police raid Yitzhar settlement, Hakol Hayehudi news site
4 arrested on suspicion of incitement, arson; raid follows leaked IDF letter warning of soldiers harming settlement evacuation operations.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPolice entering Yitzhar settlement 311(photo credit: Hakol Hayehudi)
Dozens of police officers raided the "Hakol Hayehudi" (the Jewish voice) news site run from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, arrested three of the site's operators on suspicion of incitement, Army Radio reported.The raid comes less than 24 hours after the news site released a letter reportedly penned by IDF Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon asking low-level commanders to identify soldiers who "have the potential to harm state security." The move followed two incidents in which soldiers ideologically opposed to the evacuation of settlement outposts managed to disrupt those operations.RELATED:Yitzhar rabbi freed after arrest for incitement IDF investigates claim that settlers killed Palestinian It was not clear, however, whether the raid was in connection to the letter or other incidents. The paper often writes about "price tag" attacks, and Yitzhar is home to the rabbi who recently wrote a book justifying the killing of non-Jews, including children.Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, head of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the settlement, was detained last year on suspicion of incitement following the publication of his book, "Torat Hamelech," but not charged with any crime.Additionally, a minor was arrested during the raid on suspicion of setting a car on fire in a nearby Palestinian village in recent days, Army Radio reported."A number of items and computers were seized during the raid as part of the investigation," a Judea and Samaria police spokeswoman said.
