Extremist settlers allegedly stole some 200 goats from two Palestinian villages in the central West Bank and took them to a nearby illegal farming settlement outpost, the Peace Now settlement watchdog said Tuesday.

Footage obtained by the Peace Now that was filmed on Sunday shows five Jewish youths with tzitzit (ritual fringes) and peyot (sidelocks), some of whom were also masked, driving dozens of goats down a street in Deir Ibzi.

A military vehicle carrying at least one soldier can be seen driving the other way as the goats are herded out of the village.

Sixty-five goats were reportedly stolen from Deir Ibzi and another 155 were stolen from the nearby village of Ein Arik, and herded toward the nearby illegal settlement outpost of Beit Karnayim.

According to Peace Now, the extremists broke into the goat pens while IDF soldiers were present and observing the incident, while Palestinian residents who tried to stop the theft were beaten by the settler activists and sprayed with pepper spray.

One Palestinian was detained by the IDF during the incident and has not yet been released.

Residents also reported that IDF soldiers and settlers seized the phones of three Palestinians who had recorded the incident.

The District Coordination and Liaison department of the COGAT Defense Ministry agency later recovered 35 goats belonging to herders from Ein Arik.

Neither the IDF nor the police responded to requests for comment by........

© The Times of Israel