Israel overnight handed restraining orders to 12 radical Jewish settlers, forbidding them from entering parts of the West Bank for three to nine months, to prevent further vandalism attacks on property belonging to Palestinians and the Israeli army dpa reported
Recipients of the orders hailed from: Yitzhar, a settlement south of Nablus; and Havat Gilad, a nearby settler outpost, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told dpa.
An Israeli army statement said the Shin Bet internal security organization had gathered information, which showed the group of extremists has been involved in "violent and clandestine activity" targeting Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces in the area.
Asked why the suspects were not arrested, Rosenfeld said the restraining orders ran parallel to any legal prosecution or action being considered, and were issued to prevent more immediate unrest.
In an outburst of violence last month by radical settlers protesting government attempts to uproot unauthorized outposts, Jewish extremists vandalized two mosques, including one in Jerusalem; burst into an army base near Nablus; and threw a brick into the vehicle of a senior Israeli officer, injuring him.
An Israeli army spokeswoman was not immediately able to say whether the 12 recipients of restraining orders were involved in those incidents.