Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank formed an armed militia under the name "Civil Guard" to carry out night combing operations, claiming to help the occupation army in confronting the Palestinians, according to the official media.
The Kan channel, which is affiliated with the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, said this evening, Tuesday, that settlers began launching a night patrol on Monday on the road that passes through the town of Hawara, south of Nablus.
The channel quoted the settler Kobi Zayat, who participated in the patrol, as saying, "We have been witnessing for about 6 months daily stone-throwing from Palestinians on the road that passes through Hawara, and we have no other way to reach Jerusalem and the central areas."
Zayat - a resident of Yitzhar settlement - added that they decided to form this militia to help the army "protect" themselves, after two shooting attacks last week, pointing to the state of fear among the settlers.
He explained that he and his comrades use their licensed personal firearms, adding, "We are not a substitute for the army and we do not intend to be."
Despite this militia's insistence on limiting its role to protection, it did not provide guarantees that it would not carry out attacks against Palestinians in the area. At the beginning of this year, Israeli Minister of Internal Security Omer Bar-Lev approved the settlers' practice of "organized terrorism" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Recently, the rate of settler attacks on Palestinians has doubled, including physical attacks and vandalism and burning of property and farms, and Palestinians say that these practices are committed in front of the Israeli army soldiers.
Palestinians in the West Bank are organizing weekly anti-settlement marches. Last Friday, 9 Palestinians - including a child - were wounded by "rubber" bullets as a result of the occupation forces' suppression of a march in the Kafr Qaddoum area.
About 666,000 Israeli settlers are distributed in 145 large settlements and 140 random outposts (not licensed by the Israeli government) in the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - according to data from the Israeli human rights movement, Peace Now.