Israeli security forces on Sunday formally imposed restrictions against a group of 10 Jewish activists -- a move intended to prevent terror attacks and hate crimes orchestrated by Palestinian and Jewish extremists in the hotly contested West Bank. Photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler / Shutterstock

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Israel's internal security force on Sunday formally suppressed a small group of Jewish activists, who it fears could attempt to attack Palestinians in the conflict-laden country.

The Israeli Security Agency, or Shin Bet, issued administrative orders against the individuals -- some of whom are under the age of 18 -- that place them under house arrest with a curfew. The orders also bar them from certain locations and prohibit contact with certain acquaintances, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.


The orders are the Israeli government's latest attempts to disrupt home-grown terrorism -- particularly right wing-inspired violence -- in the wake of last month's deadly attack on the village of Duma, where a Palestinian father and son were killed by Jewish militants.

No one has been charged in relation to the fire bomb attack, but government officials say the new orders are designed to be preventative in nature -- and are in line with the government's mission to fight terrorism.

"Due to a number of terror attacks that have been carried out recently, including ones in which people were killed, the Shin Bet recommended restraining orders against 10 activists," the security agency said.

The 10 activists affected by the orders have not yet been charged with any crime, however.

"They are in hysterics ... They are handing out administrative orders as if they were fresh rolls," said the Honenu group, which provides pro bono legal assistance to right wing activists.

The orders are intended to keep militants from reaching illegal outposts in the hotly contested West Bank, where many terror plots are hatched and executed by both Jews and Palestinians, officials say.

The orders against the activists will last for 10 months, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Many areas of Israel, the West Bank and all of Jerusalem are bitterly contested lands, with each side claiming some form of ownership since the country's formation in the late 1940s.

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