A view shows the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank, October 27, 2021 REUTERS/Ammar Awad

i24 News – Authorities detained 17 Israelis, including a minor, for hate crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank town of Huwara last month, Israel’s police said Wednesday.

“During the past month, an undercover investigation has been conducted in the central unit of the [West Bank],” the police stated.

The probe focused on an “incident of assault, participation in a prohibited gathering, and damage to property with racist motives,” the statement said, according to the Jerusalem Post.

On January 24, a convoy of some 30 cars under an army escort, on its way to the Yitzhar settlement, stopped in the center of Huwara near the city of Nablus.

Individuals from the convoy broke store windows, stoned cars, and assaulted Palestinians.

At least three Palestinian residents were wounded, including a three-year-old, and some 25 cars were damaged.

Israel’s army did not arrest the rioters and escorted the convoy to Yitzhar, according to the Post.

“This morning the investigation became public with the arrest of 17 suspects of residents of [the West Bank],” Jerusalem, and northern Israel, the police said.

They added that the suspects are being questioned in the central unit of the district and “depending on the development of the investigation, it will be decided whether to bring some of them to a hearing in their case in court.”

Violent attacks by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians continue to blight the West Bank, with recent warnings from local and international officials that the situation could spiral out of control.