Palestinians react as Israeli police fire stun grenades during clashes at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, amid tension surrounding the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 7, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Israeli politicians on Thursday condemned violence by Jewish settlers against IDF forces who were trying to disperse riots which broke out around Huwara near the West Bank town of Nablus the night before.

“The Jewish rioters who violently attacked IDF soldiers in Huwara are dangerous criminals who must be denounced and held accountable without hesitation and with the utmost severity,” stated Prime Minister Yair Lapid. “They endanger the lives of our soldiers and they harm the State of Israel.”

Israeli settlers overnight pepper sprayed a paratrooper battalion commander and another three soldiers as they were trying to disperse violent riots near Huwara, the Israeli army said. As a result, the battalion commander and another soldier were injured, the army added.

IDF forces had been deployed to the area stop dozens of Israeli civilians who were hurling rocks at Palestinian vehicles.

The Israeli Police said the suspects involved in the attack fled in vehicles and during the hunt after them one of the suspects was arrested.

“The quick arrest of a suspect involved in the attack on IDF soldiers in the Huwara area, is evidence of the determination of the police to reach every one of the Jewish rioters who took part in these terrorist acts, and to bring them to justice,” said Public Security Minister Omer Barlev. “We have no intention of tolerating these events, and we will prosecute any violators of the law.”

The eruption of violence comes amid a surge in shooting attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis and an uptick in clashes in recent weeks in eastern Jerusalem and several West Bank towns between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi called the attack against the IDF “shameful and disgraceful criminal behavior.”

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz also expressed his condemnation of the attack against IDF soldiers and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“The perpetrators do not represent the settlement and impair the ability to provide security for the citizens of Israel and the residents of the area,” said Gantz. “IDF soldiers have full backing and support to continue operating and carrying out their operational mission.”

Barlev asserted that the violence by settlers against both IDF soldiers and Palestinian civilians is “an act of terrorism in every way.”

“It is a moral and ethical disgrace of the first order,” Barlev emphasized.