Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the violence.
"I view with great seriousness the violent riots and the attempt by a handful of extremists to take the law into their own hands," he said in a statement, adding that the perpetrators "are not representative" of Israeli settlers in general.
Criminal activities that threatened security were behind the demolition, the military said.
Shortly afterwards, the Haaretz newspaper reported that a Palestinian village near the site, Zur Misgavi in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, had been attacked by dozens of settlers.
In another village in the area south of Bethlehem, settlers set fire to three houses and several vehicles, according to Haaretz.
The military is only allowed to demolish outposts that pose a security risk, other decisions are made by a settler authority headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – one of the more controversial and far-right members of Netanyahu's government.
Smotrich speaks out against the military in a statement, claiming that he ordered the demolition in order to build "thousands of homes" for settlers, Israeli media reports.
Since the war in Gaza broke out with the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, over 1,000 Palestinians, including combatants, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank. During the same period, 43 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
