Israeli police clash with West Bank settlers

Israeli police clashed with Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank as they dismantled an illegal settler outpost early on Wednesday, according to video footage of the police operation seen by Reuters.

The video showed police excavators destroying makeshift structures at the outpost. Settlers sat down across a small road to block access for the police, but officers dragged them out of the way, the video showed.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities about the operation.

Israel is under international pressure to curb settlement expansion in the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state alongside Gaza.

The outpost, in a rural area, is illegal under Israeli and international law. Israeli police have in the past taken steps against some illegal settlement activity in the West Bank, but Palestinian groups say in many cases the police do not enforce the law, especially since the start of the war in Gaza.

Reuters