Israeli security forces on Monday arrested eight settlers in the West Bank town of Hebron on charges of having been involved in violent riots against soldiers and Palestinians in recent days.
250 additional Israeli policemen will be deployed to the city on Monday in an attempt to maintain calm.
Clashes began last week when Israeli soldiers attempted to clear settlers from a marketplace which they had illegally taken over in the city. Masked settlers threw rocks, eggs and other items in protest of the planned evacuation from the market.
Israeli military authorities have threatened to declare Hebron a closed military zone if settler unrest continues; it has already decided to forcibly remove around one hundred settlers participating in the riots.
One Israeli military source told reporters in Haaretz that the situation was like none other experience by the Israeli army. "It is a completely new situation," he said. "We are facing Jews who are conducting pogroms against Arab property."
The majority of Hebron settlers appear to support the rioters, calling the violence appropriate in response to the "terrible plot to expel Jews."
Despite the deployment of backup forces on Monday, the Israeli army expects that it will require "thousands" of security forces to implement the evacuation of the settlers gauging by the level of recent violence perpetrated by them.
Another military source said, "Rioters are mistaken if they think they will manage to deter us in this fashion. We will devote as many troops as are needed to carry out this mission."
