West Bank District Commander Moshe Pinchi ordered the establishment of a special task force following violent clashes in recent days between extremist Hilltop Youth rioters and Israeli security forces in a meeting on Monday.
The task force will be under the command of Samaria Region Commander Avi Cohen and will operate in tandem with the IDF and Shin Bet.
Details of the task force, including its purpose, role, and overall goals were agreed upon in an emergency meeting with Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Central Command Chief Major-General Avi Bluth, West Bank District Commander Moshe Pinchi, Shin Bet representatives, the special projects manager from the Defense Ministry for handling Hilltop Youth, and others.
The task force will consist of four branches: The investigative branch, the intelligence branch, the operational branch, and the communications branch; all branches will be working in full cooperation with both the IDF and Shin Bet, and have full access to their resources.
The investigative and intelligence branches will be made up of various forensic experts, detectives, and officers from the West Bank Intelligence Unit.
The operational branch will focus on active operations, as well as foiling, preventing, and immediately responding to unfolding events. A full company from the West Bank Border Police, consisting of 60 officers, has been assigned to the branch. They can be deployed without requiring approval from Central Command, and are currently under the command of the Israel Police's Samaria region commander. The company was deployed to disperse the violent protest at Tapuah Junction on Monday night.
The company’s original goal was to handle Palestinian terrorism, but it has since been repurposed into a task force to deal with Jewish extremism, meaning there is one less unit available to combat Palestinian terrorism.
The communications branch aims to continue strengthening the connection between settlements, the police, and the IDF, with the understanding that the rioters represent a small minority and do not reflect the entire settlement population. Maintaining open communication with the communities and local authorities is critical for continued cooperation between the IDF, police, welfare agencies, and civil authorities.
Reasons for establishing the task force
An emergency meeting regarding establishing the task force took place following a series of violent events over the past few days, including clashes between Jewish settlers and soldiers on Mount Hatzor, an illegal outpost overlooking the village of Kafr Malik, where three Palestinians were killed last week after houses and vehicles were set on fire; stone-throwing at a military force, which fired back and injured a 14-year-old Jewish boy; the burning of a communication site at the Geva Asaf Junction used by security forces to thwart and prevent terror attacks in the area; the burning of a police vehicle; the setting fire to a police building in Beit El; an attempted break-in at the Binyamin Brigade base, and more.
The special task force will be led by the Israel Police's Samaria Region Commander Avi Cohen, who is the territorial commander and will oversee everything.
The plan is aimed at dealing with extremists among Israeli residents of the West Bank, investigating the violent events, and preventing future occurrences.