Israeli minister orders police to assume settlement law enforcement

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has instructed the military to develop a plan to transfer law enforcement powers in civilian matters concerning Israeli settlements and residents in the West Bank to the police.

He said the task of the Israeli army is to combat Palestinian actions and focus on protecting the borders and settlements from threats, Caliber.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

“Full responsibility for law enforcement in civilian matters and maintaining law and order will be transferred to the police,” he noted.

Earlier, it was reported that Israeli security services had foiled an assassination attempt targeting Katz.

Authorities said a trained three-member cell from Jenin was preparing to attack Katz during the ceremony.

The intelligence prompted an immediate operation involving the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit.

Within hours, Yamam commandos deployed to Jenin, carried out rapid operational planning and simultaneously raided three locations where the suspects were believed to be hiding.

All three suspects were arrested without incident before they were able to arm themselves and were transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov