Israel military closes Taybeh in West Bank to nonresidents
The restriction applies to Israelis after attacks by settlers around the Palestinian Christian village have intensified.
On 9 August, the Israel military closed the West Bank village of Taybeh to nonresidents and designated it a closed military zone. The military said the restriction was imposed to prevent rising violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the area. A spokesman said the order applies to Israelis, not Palestinians, and that soldiers will be deployed to disperse crowds and detain suspected violators. Taybeh is known as one of the remaining Christian villages in the West Bank. In June, Israeli settlers were reported to have blocked Palestinians trying to put out a major fire near the village. A U.N. investigative report released on 9 June also concluded that Israeli authorities were directly involved in settler attacks that killed, injured and displaced Palestinians in the West Bank.