Judea Samaria District Police were scrambled to the area near Metzoke Dragot overnight Tuesday following a report that a number of masked individuals had attacked a group of Palestinians with rocks and tear gas, and set two of the Palestinians' cars on fire.
The incident appears to have begun at around 11 p.m. Tuesday when two youths walking around a parking lot encountered a group of two Palestinian men and a Palestinian woman. After a verbal altercation, it appears that 15-20 "hilltop youth" – a term used to describe extreme right-wing settlers who are teenagers – from the area around the Yitzhar settlement arrived on the scene, wearing masks.
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Some of the youths are confirmed coronavirus patients and were supposed to be in isolation in a nearby treatment facility that the IDF had set up after they refused to be taken to any of the existing corona facilities already in use.
Shortly thereafter, the youth reportedly used rocks and tear gas to attack the three Palestinians. The youths also beat the woman, hitting her in the face and abdomen. Her injuries caused her to lose consciousness and she was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba for treatment.
An official from Israel's security establishment expressed frustration at the event: "Terrorism against Border Police in Yitzhar, terrorism against innocent minorities tonight in Metzoke Dragot – this is how the 'hilltop activists' express their thanks to Israel for taking care of them during the corona crisis."
According to the official, the Tuesday night incident was "more proof that this is a violent, radical, and racist group that carries out terrorism wherever they are. Security forces will bring the perpetrators to justice."
The Tag Meir group, which battles hate crimes, said in response to the attack that "Israel's political and religious leadership must condemn the hate crime by a Jewish terrorist group under quarantine [committed] tonight in Metzoke Dragot. The Israel Police and the Shin Bet are expected to take harsh action against criminals. How long will the Israeli government continue to ignore the serial hateful acts by the hilltop youth?"
