Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday condemned attacks by settlers on security forces and security sites, in a statement issued hours after dozens of Jewish extremists set fire to a security installation and rioted outside a West Bank base.

“No civilized country can tolerate violent and anarchic acts such as the burning of a military installation, damage to IDF property, and assaults on security personnel by citizens of the state,” wrote Netanyahu in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The premier also called on law enforcement to investigate the incident and prosecute the “rioters.”

Netanyahu defended the wider settler population as a model community and depicted those who carried out the attacks as a fringe minority.

“The settler community is a model and an example of developing the land, meaningful service in the IDF, and contributing to the cultivation of Torah scholars. We will not allow a violent and fanatic few to tarnish an entire community,” the premier said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he will hold an “urgent meeting” to discuss the attacks on Israeli security forces.

“This phenomenon must be put to an immediate end. We will take all necessary measures and completely uproot this violence. No one will dare raise a hand against IDF soldiers and members of the security forces,” he said in a statement.

But opposition leaders said the attackers were “Jewish terrorists” who felt they could act with impunity due to support from the government.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that “terrorists are terrorists.”

“These are Jewish terrorists, a gang of criminals, who feel they have the support of the coalition. Anyone who uses force against IDF soldiers should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law,” Lapid told Army Radio.

Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity party, noted that while coalition members condemned the overnight incident, the government has acted to weaken the Israel Police, Shin Bet and the IDF.

“The event we witnessed tonight, which joins a severe wave of additional events, begins with a dangerous tailwind for violence and Jewish terrorism, blowing directly from ministers in the government,” he said in a statement.

“From the deliberate weakening of the police, and attacks on the Shin Bet and the IDF instead of on the rioters. Mealymouthed condemnations will not stop the violence — only action will,” Gantz said.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he “strongly condemn[s] the violence against the IDF and security forces. Such incidents are unacceptable and the perpetrators must be punished severely.”

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who on Sunday criticized troops for using live fire on Friday night while defending themselves against settler attackers, on Monday said the rioters had “crossed a red line.”

“Criminals are criminals are criminals in every place in the country,” he posted on X.

“Violence against beloved IDF soldiers and the Israel Police and the destruction of property are forbidden and cross a red line,” he said, calling on the police to investigate the incidents and bring those responsible to justice.

Smotrich also said the extremists do not represent the majority of the settlers living in the West Bank.

MK Avihai Boaron from Netanyahu’s Likud party told the Walla news sitethat while the attacks were “apparently illegal behavior,” they were the actions of “marginalized youth.”

He also said that the Israeli extremists should not be compared to Palestinians who throw rocks.

“A rock is a rock, but the throwing hand is not the same throwing hand — of course the intention is different,” he said, adding that the extremist Israelis should not be treated as an “enemy.”

Dozens of Jewish extremists set fire to a security installation and rioted outside a West Bank base overnight Sunday-Monday, days after an officer in the Israel Defense Forces was assaulted by settlers.

Members of the crowd held up a sign declaring “the battalion commander is a traitor,” referring to the officer.

A military official said some of the settlers tried to break into the Binyamin Regional Brigade military base in the central West Bank, threw rocks and sprayed mace at troops, and slashed the tires of army vehicles.

Additionally, Israeli settlers torched a multi-million-shekel security installation used to “thwart terror attacks and maintain security” in the Ramallah area of the West Bank overnight, according to the IDF.

The military said damage to the site “poses a danger to the security of the residents.”

There were no reports of arrests in either incident. The Shin Bet has opened an investigation into the security installation arson.

The activists who rioted outside the base were protesting the use of warning shots against settlers who ambushed a military patrol on Friday night, which apparently resulted in the injury of a teenager.

Reservists and police had been dispatched to an area near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik due to the arrival of several suspects there. The area had been declared a closed military zone due to a settler attack there on Wednesday, in which three Palestinians were killed by IDF fire, and repeated attempts by settlers to establish an illegal outpost near the village on private Palestinian land.

Settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank take place on a near-daily basis with impunity, with suspects rarely detained and prosecution even more uncommon. The situation has sparked rising international criticism and mounting sanctions from Western governments.

Last year, Katz ended the policy of administrative detentions — holding a person practically indefinitely without charge — for extremist settlers, while leaving it in place for Palestinians. The tool is typically used when authorities believe they have intelligence tying a suspect to a crime but do not have enough evidence for charges to stand up in a court of law.

The head of the Israel Police’s West Bank division is under investigation for ignoring settler violence allegedly in order to curry favor in the eyes of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He was allowed to return to his post, despite the ongoing investigation.