Israeli Army Destroys Pizza Restaurant Over Image of Captive

The Israeli army demolished a pizza restaurant in the town of Huwara, northern West Bank, claiming it used an image of an Israeli captive taken by Palestinian militants in Gaza as a commercial advertisement. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority released a video early Friday showing a military bulldozer demolishing the restaurant and destroying its contents. According to the Hebrew newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth," "the restaurant posted an advertisement featuring a picture of an Israeli kidnapped to Gaza during Hamas's attack on settlements in the south of the country." It added: "In response, some settlers arrived at the site and attempted to smash the pizza restaurant, demanding that the army demolish it." The newspaper noted that the head of the Samaria settlement council, Yossi Dagan, made a similar request to the commander of the central region, and Israeli army forces arrived at the location, as reported by Anadolu Agency. The Israeli army also arrested the restaurant owner for what it described as "dangerous propaganda." Hamas and militants from other Palestinian factions captured dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, during a large-scale infiltration operation into settlements around Gaza.