Rome, 13 November (LaPresse) – The commander of the Israeli armed forces in the northern West Bank, Colonel Ariel Gonen, has condemned the recent attacks perpetrated by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians. ‘In recent times, we have witnessed a sharp and significant increase in the number and severity of incidents of nationalist violence in the brigade's sector,’ he wrote in a letter to the troops reported by The Times of Israel. ‘This is a serious, evolving and dangerous phenomenon, which causes harm to uninvolved Palestinians and, at times, even to the security forces themselves.’