Gallant approves detention of five right-wing settlers for revenge violence

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved on Sunday the administrative detention of five right-wing rioters, according to Israeli media.

The group was arrested in connection with a spree of settler violence following the murder of 14-year-old Binyamin Achimair in the West Bank earlier this month.

They are charged with inciting a series of disturbances during which two Palestinians were shot, as well as setting fire to Palestinian property.

The group ranges from a 16-year-old minor to a father of four.

They received administrative detentions between three to six months, with some, notably, reentering detention only a year after being released.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the arrests “Gallant’s persecution of the settlers,” emphasizing that “the wave of administrative arrest warrants for settlers in the West Bank [was] politics in the guise of security.”

Riots following the discovery of a body

Achimair went missing on April 12. After an intense 24-hour search by security and rescue forces in the West Bank, his body was discovered near the villages of Duma and al-Mughayyir.

Settlers in the region rioted following the discovery of the body, attacking those two villages as homes and cars were set alight.

Two Palestinians were killed in the chaos, with both the IDF and settlers blaming each other for the deaths. Troops who had been called to break up the disruption discovered gunshot wounds on the bodies of the two Palestinians who were killed.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 16 people needed medical treatment. There were also reports of houses and vehicles set on fire by settlers in the villages of Kusra and Beit Furik. Further attacks were reported in villages in the surrounding area as well.