Israeli Army Arms Jewish Settlers

Jewish settlers across the West Bank are being armed and trained by the Israeli military in anticipation of unrest and violence leading up to a Palestinian demand for statehood at the United Nations in three weeks.

By Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv
5:21PM BST 30 Aug 2011
Courtesy Of "The Telegraph"

...Leaked documents documents have outlined Israeli plans to arm security guards working on the Jewish settlements with riot gear, including tear gas and stun grenades.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, an Israeli army spokesperson confirmed that the military is training "community leadership and security personnel throughout Judea and Samaria" but refused to comment on whether they were also being provided with additional arms.

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B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights agency, has reported 42 cases of Jewish settler violence for police investigation since the beginning of 2011, including the murder of two Palestinian teenagers.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, accused Israeli soldiers of turning a blind eye to settler assaults on Palestinians: "The close relationship between the IDF and the illegal settlement project in the West Bank is confirmed by the many reports we see of the most violent settlers forcing Palestinians of their ancestral land under the noses of the IDF, sometimes with their protection if not connivance," he said.