Israeli activists block Gaza aid convoy and pour out sugar
Hardline Israeli activists ransacked a convoy of lorries bringing vital aid to the sealed-off Gaza Strip, on Monday.
About 100 protesters from the Tzav 9 movement, which comprises settlers, demobilised reservists and families of some of those taken hostage by Hamas, on Monday afternoon blocked a convoy of lorries near the Hebron area in the occupied West Bank, en route from Jordan to Gaza.
Several dozen people, mostly young men, then ransacked the lorries, hurling out their contents.
In one video, they were seen throwing out bags of sugar from the back of the vehicles on to the road just outside the wall separating the West Bank from Israel. Sugar spilled onto the road. In another video, teenagers trampled on food parcels, kicking them on to the road and hurling them out.
No security presence was seen nearby but Israeli police said on Monday that authorities were called in to clear the area, arresting four people for obstructing traffic. Police also said they could not have prevented the incident as the Israel Defense Forces had not informed them of the incoming convoy.
Tzav 9 activists have been blocking deliveries and vandalising lorries for several weeks after Israel allowed more aid into Gaza, including from Jordan, to the east of the West Bank.
Last week, the same group staged a sit-in at the Allenby crossing between the West Bank and Jordan and later ransacked some of the lorries. The incident coincided with the visit of Antony Blinken, United States secretary of state, who condemned the disruption as “unacceptable”.
Protesters from Tzav 9 claim it is unfair of Israel to allow more aid to be delivered into Gaza while the Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity are unlikely to receive any food parcels or the most basic medical treatment.
Israeli police have been accused of turning a blind eye to the violent disruption of aid supplies on Israel-controlled territories while peace activists march towards the Gaza border, carrying symbolic supplies of food have been repeatedly arrested.
