Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening to address the growing concerns over the failure of the IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police to contain escalating violence carried out by Jewish extremists in the West Bank.
The discussion occurred as dozens of young Jewish men entered the Palestinian village of Huwara and set fire to vehicles and buildings. The attack was reportedly carried out in retaliation for the recent killing of Aharon Cohen, 70, a resident of Kiryat Arba, who was shot dead this week during a terrorist attack at Gush Junction.
During the security assessment, Central Command head Maj.-Gen. Avi Balut warned: “The writing is on the wall. There are normal residents living on the farms, and in the outposts, there are disorderly lawbreakers and rioters.”
National Missions Minister Orit Strock emphasized distinctions between settlers, saying: “There are farms and there are outposts, and they are different.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “There are good people in the outposts as well. It cannot be that you evacuate an outpost, while on the other hand, Arabs who also build illegally in the West Bank are not evacuated.”
Shin Bet chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini, speaking to the meeting’s legal adviser, added: “If taking over land is terror, then taking over land in the Negev is also terror.” He called for coordinated action: “The phenomenon must be dealt with full force. This must be done through joint efforts between all bodies if the aim is to eradicate the phenomenon,” Channel 12 reported.
Zini also expressed his support of Ben-Gvir's proposed death penalty bill for terrorists, saying that "it is a law that will that will deter [terrorism]."
"There will be no preventing it," IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said during the debate over the bill. "But judges should be given discretion."
A focal point for far-right youth involved in violent activity
The rampage in Huwara occurred despite warnings from the security establishment that Jewish extremists were likely to act following both Cohen’s murder and the recent evacuation of the illegal Givat Hatilim outpost in Gush Etzion. Officials have described that outpost as a focal point for far Right youth involved in violent activity.
Security officials have expressed concern about the defense establishment's inability to respond effectively. According to assessments, about 70 core activists are involved in these violent actions, with an additional 200 youths participating sporadically.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.