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Last update - 00:00 31/10/2008
EU condemns settler 'acts of brutality' against Palestinians
By Haaretz Service
Tags: west bank outpost 

The European Union on Friday issued a harsh condemnation of settler violence against Palestinians after a recent upsurge in clashes in the West Bank.

"The European Union once again condemns in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence and brutality committed against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank," the EU presidency said.

The censure came after a series of violent clashes between settlers, Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces during the current olive harvest.
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The EU statement continued: "The European Union would point out that it is up to the Israeli government, which has itself condemned these acts, to take the necessary measures to stop them immediately, in accordance with its international obligations," it said.

Earlier Friday, right-wing activists rebuilt structures razed overnight by security forces at the Federman Farm outpost in the West bank.

Israeli security forces had overnight evacuated the illegal outpost, near the town of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank. This was the second evacuation of the settlement in less than a week.

Four policemen were lightly injured during the clashes that erupted during the avacuation. Reuters television footage also showed settlers throwing stones at Palestinian photographers on the scene.

Half a dozen settlers masking their faces with scarves hurled rocks at several Palestinian photographers at the scene, striking Hazem Bader, of the French AFP news agency in the head, wounding him.

Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed that officers had been injured but said he could comment on the alleged assault of the journalist once an official complaint was filed.

Dov Lior, the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba, later Friday compared the razing of the outpost to Holocaust-era atrocities.

"The operations of the expulsion forces at Federman Farm recall what happened to my family in Poland, when they were forced from their homes in the middle of the night, without reason, without mercy and because they were Jews," he said.

Settlers blame police for clashes

The settlers blamed the officers for inciting violence over the course of the evacuation. Three settlers were detained for questioning following the clashes.

IDF troops, Border Police and Israel Police officers had evacuated the Federman Farm outpost on Saturday evening.

The outpost had been home to the family of Noam Federman, a former leader in the outlawed Kach movement, and his family, for about two years. Sinai Tor, a musician well-known in settler circles, had also taken up residence there.

The local settler community had struck a "price tag" policy, which called for damaging IDF and Palestinian property in response to the weekend evacuation.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz called for an incitement investigation against right -wing activists, after rioting by settlers in the West Bank that included desecrating headstones at a Muslim cemetery between Hebron and Kiryat Arba and damaging more than 80 Palestinian vehicles.

During the rioting, settlers hurled abuse at security forces personnel and called for a "revenge attack" in response to the evacuation of Federman Farm.

Federman himself was arrested on Saturday night on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and obstructing police from carrying out their duty.

He was released from police custody on Monday, when the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court slammed the police for having insufficient evidence.

Police said he forcibly resisted arrest, kicking and hitting police officers, though an accusation that he broke a police officer's leg proved false.

Federman's lawyer, Ariel Atari, said he plans to file a complaint with the police investigation department against the police officers involved in the incident.

During the rioting of the initial evacuation last week, a number of settlers were arrested for attacking a police officer, and two women were arrested after they attempted to torch a police car.

Settlers also smashed windows and punctured the tires of more than 80 Palestinian vehicles and caused damage worth an estimated hundreds of thousands of shekels to the security fence surrounding Kiryat Arba. Two police cars were also damaged during the altercations.

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      1.   Sedition, plain and simple... 07:42  |  Esther 31/10/08
      2.   Worst scenario... 08:58  |  Esther 31/10/08
      3.   Jews Are Tough People 09:02  |  Ben Israel 31/10/08
      4.   We will build it again ! 09:29  |  Jew 31/10/08
      5.   a perfect case for administrative detention 09:33  |  potobac 31/10/08
      6.   please not `settlers` 09:38  |  samos 31/10/08
      7.   Send them back to New Jersey 10:20  |  Sylvie 31/10/08
      8.   SETTLERS ARE BAD FOR ISRAEL 11:00  |  Alka Seltzer 31/10/08
      9.   Why call it evacuation 11:33  |  Jackie 31/10/08
      10.   Settlers to Government: We make the law in the west bank 11:40  |  Natallie Durson 31/10/08
      11.   Let`s annex the territories and get over with it 12:10  |  Israeli 31/10/08
      12.   Federman owns the land 12:30  |  Avi 31/10/08
      13.   The Settler`s Actions Threaten our Nation, So Expel Them 13:11  |  Enough is Enough 31/10/08
      14.   "by legal means of course", Jew 13:21  |  Murray 31/10/08
      15.   Sylvie 13:29  |  lady from USA 31/10/08
      16.   settlers BUILD while Jihadists KILL 13:30  |  Avi 31/10/08
      17.   Make it a Military Zone 13:31  |  sh 31/10/08
      18.   Alka Seltzer 13:33  |  lady from USA 31/10/08
      19.   Wrong, Natallie #9.... 13:41  |  Esther 31/10/08
      20.   Natalie: The Government is not backing away however 13:56  |  Avi 31/10/08
      21.   We will not tolerate another "Disengagement" from our land! 14:21  |  Chaim 31/10/08
      22.   So why doesn`t the IDF LEAVE? 14:34  |  S 31/10/08
      23.   Israeli 14:36  |  lady from USA 31/10/08
      24.   "Send them back" - I think I`ve heard that one before 14:57  |  Boris 31/10/08
      25.   LASSY FROM USA 15:01  |  Alka Seltzer 31/10/08
      26.   JEWS WILL RESIST ANOTHER POGRAM 15:04  |  MIKE 31/10/08
      27.   Station a bulldozer at the site 15:29  |  Mark Lincoln 31/10/08
      28.   "not tolerate", Chaim 15:29  |  Murray 31/10/08
      29.   How about the Federman children & their suffering? 15:33  |  Buddy Macy 31/10/08
      30.   civil war 15:47  |  dont worry be happy 31/10/08
      31.   Lady from the USA 15:54  |  Sylvie 31/10/08
      32.   Not "Intel inside", but "anti-Israel inside: # 9 15:57  |  Israeli citizen 31/10/08
      33.   throwing rocks,torching cars,wearing mask 16:09  |  too bad 31/10/08
      34.   #5, Sylvie... 16:09  |  Silvienne 31/10/08
      35.   Settler thugs... 16:35  |  Silvienne 31/10/08
      36.   #19, Chaim and his disengagement... 16:37  |  Silvienne 31/10/08
      37.   Sylvie 17:43  |  lady from USA 31/10/08
      38.   Arabs are the real settlers! 18:04  |  Palestiniansareamyth 31/10/08
      39.   #19 &21 Chaim and lady from the USA 18:07  |  H 31/10/08
      40.   #28 Silvienne. Olmert had no mandate to promise new terror state. 18:07  |  Chaim 31/10/08
      41.   We have had enough of this 18:17  |  David 31/10/08
      42.   the Israeli revolving doo 18:38  |  Shelley 31/10/08
      43.   Silvienne 18:42  |  Sylvie 31/10/08
      44.   Solution: 18:43  |  Axel 31/10/08
      45.   Lady from the USA 18:45  |  Sylvie 31/10/08
      46.   Why settling the West Bank is illegal 19:14  |  Samir 31/10/08
      47.   LAdy from US 19:20  |  KR 31/10/08
      48.   #30, Sylvie to lady from USA..aha, good question! 20:04  |  Silvienne 31/10/08
      49.   Fainting Leftie Esther,the EU hasn`t condemned spitting at Cathol 20:07  |  Absolute Sweden 31/10/08
      50.   Ignorant lady from the USA 20:13  |  Palestinian Brit 31/10/08
      51.   Israel You Better Lock Up The Violent Settlers 20:20  |  Yosemite 31/10/08
      52.   Glory to the Jewish communities of Judea! Down with Israel! 20:29  |  vz 31/10/08
      53.   surprising assignment? 20:31  |  alex 31/10/08
      54.   WORLD CONDEMNS EUROPE FOR STANDING BY.... 20:36  |  Brant 31/10/08
      55.   The bigest danger is for us Jews is become like arabs 20:36  |  Albert 31/10/08
      56.   lady from usa - ignore her 20:40  |  yezmar 31/10/08
      57.   Thank You, Sylvie # 23 20:45  |  Maki 31/10/08
      58.   Eurabia funds PA hate TV, yes condemns Jews, hmm 20:50  |  David 31/10/08
      59.   take the settlers weapons away 20:51  |  sam 31/10/08
      60.   lady from usa 20:54  |  sam 31/10/08
      61.   Sylvie that is silly 21:01  |  Dave Duncan 31/10/08
      62.   in 1187 when salladin liberated jerusalem 21:08  |  sam 31/10/08
      63.   Murray`s legal means 21:16  |  SDHD 31/10/08
      64.   Silvienne`s promises 21:22  |  SDHD 31/10/08
      65.   What #19 forgets about rights 21:27  |  Myles 31/10/08
      66.   Sylvie, please tell US where there was a "palestinian" state or 21:47  |  Mike 31/10/08
      67.   Wake Up EU, Israel`s own Condmenation Desinged to Placate You 21:52  |  Johan Odin 31/10/08
      68.   NO to EU Crap 22:02  |  Brod 31/10/08
      69.   They Not Settlers 22:24  |  Ronald