(MENAFN) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported Saturday that a group of Israeli civilians, including settlers, attacked Israeli soldiers near the Palestinian town of Kafr Malik in the central West Bank overnight.

Israeli news site revealed that around 40 Israeli settlers, part of a newly established outpost in the area, threw stones at the soldiers and assaulted them, including a battalion commander.

The IDF explained that the altercation unfolded when Israeli soldiers spotted civilians driving toward a closed military zone near the town. In response, the soldiers were dispatched to disperse the group.

The IDF further stated that the assailants not only vandalized and damaged military vehicles but also attempted to ram the security forces. Six of the civilians were arrested and transferred to Israeli police for further investigation.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the violence, urging leaders of West Bank settler communities to denounce the actions. "Israel will not allow violence and taking the law into their own hands, and will not allow harm to the soldiers who are courageously fighting against Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and protecting the security of the settlers day and night," Katz said in a statement.

This incident comes just days after three Palestinians were killed and seven others wounded by live fire during an Israeli settler attack on the town earlier this week.

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