Ramallah: A group of rabbis has given its support to some right-wing Israelis who had restraining orders issued against them on Sunday by Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet.

Israeli news site Ynet has revealed that a message from the rabbis to the Jewish radicals living in West Bank colony outposts stated, “We are happy that you pose as an example and inspiration to religious judges and all of the loyal people of Israel.”

The rabbis are understood to be members of the new Sanhedrin movement which wants to reinstate rabbinical law in Israel. Ynet has reported that the movement, which is not recognised by the Chief Rabbinate, is popular with outpost residents.

Colony outposts are those colonies that are not authorised by the Israeli occupation authorities. Other major coloby blocs are legal under the regime’s laws but are considered illegal under international law.

The original restraining orders were made, Shin Bet claimed, to keep the nominated activists away from outposts “such as Habaladim, near the West Bank [colony] of Kochav HaShachar, from which they set out to carry out attacks”.

The new Sanhedrin movement issued a ruling in 2011 which encouraged colonists to attack Israeli forces who came to evacuate the outpost of Havat Gilad. Their statement read in part: “It is a Biblical obligation for every person in Israel to adhere to the Land of Israel, and resist any attempt at displacement with the willingness to give up your life, just as one does when confronted by a non-Jew.”

In the movement’s more recent statement of support for outpost dwellers, Rabbis Yisrael Ariel, Daniel Cohen and Yoel Schwartz wrote, “The Sanhedrin court, which sits on Jebel Al Zaitoun of the occupied East Jerusalem [Mount Zion in holy Jerusalem], hereby strengthens your spirits and reduces your sorrow, as you were seized while acting for the respect of God and the nation of Israel, risking your lives for the holiness of the nation and the Land.”

“Be strong and courageous, you and your families, in the face of persecutions and harassments. You are blessed for being caught while engaged in your relentless and uncompromising struggle for the sake of the conquest and inheritance of Israel as per the Torah and as a mitzvah,” the rabbis wrote.