Huwara Riots: Two Arrested as Farm Owner Admits Sheep Were Missing, Not Stolen

After a claim that sheep had been stolen sparked rioting in Huwara yesterday, an IDF inquiry determined today, Sunday, that there had been no break-in and that the sheep had escaped and were not stolen. The farm owner forgot to lock the sheep pen gate and had already admitted this on Saturday morning, before the clashes broke out.

Earlier today, police arrested two Jewish residents in their 30s from the Samaria area on suspicion of involvement in yesterday’s riots in Huwara. Police said more arrests are expected. The detainees are Jewish settlers from Zafnat Farm, the source of the claim that Palestinians had stolen livestock.

The suspects are involved in the filmed attack published yesterday, in which rioters were seen beating Palestinian residents alongside a person in an IDF uniform.

Police said the arrests were made after investigative activity, and that the suspects were detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack on Palestinians yesterday in Huwara. “The Israel Police views violence of any kind very seriously and will continue to act to arrest, investigate, and bring to justice those involved,” the police said in a statement.

Severe clashes between Jewish rioters and Palestinian residents broke out yesterday, Saturday, around noon in the village of Huwara, south of Nablus. Large forces from the IDF and the Border Police were called to the scene to separate the sides. The incident began after Jewish rioters from a nearby farm claimed that more than 50 sheep had been stolen from them. A group of rioters went down into the village searching for the flock, and after they said they had found some of the sheep, violent friction developed at the scene.

According to reports, pickup trucks carrying masked men entered Huwara and clashed with Palestinians. During the unrest, stones were thrown back and forth, and stones were hurled at Palestinian vehicles. IDF and Border Police forces who arrived at the scene worked to remove the Jewish rioters from the village and calm tensions.

At the end of the clashes, police and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District, accompanied by the army, entered the village and began collecting findings, evidence, and testimonies at the scene.

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