The situation is close to anarchy, and the government doesn’t appear able – or willing to do something about it.
We’re talking about a small group of Jewish Israelis in the West Bank going on rampages against Palestinians.
Last Tuesday, around 100 of the, mostly young, thugs attacked the village of Beit Lid, near Tulkarm, setting fire to vehicles and trucks, as well as to a factory and agricultural land, and injuring four Palestinians in the process.
Only six of the attackers – or “anarchists” as IDF Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth labeled them – were initially detained, and of them, only one was held for more than a day.
The attack followed nearly daily smaller-scale attacks by Jewish extremists on Palestinians in the West Bank, with the IDF putting the number at 85 during this quarter, compared to 25 in the same quarter last year.
Since the olive harvest began on October 19, 50 violent incidents have been recorded, leaving 86 Palestinians injured.
About one-third of the cases occurred in the Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron areas. That figure marks a 25-incident rise in violence from the same harvest period last year.
Majority of Jews in the West Bank are peaceful
Let there be no mistake. The vast majority of Jewish Israelis in the West Bank are law-abiding and do condone – while many outright condemn – violence against the Palestinian residents. Defense officials estimate that around 200 extremist youths are currently active in the West Bank, most of whom don’t live in Judea and Samaria.
Following a different, recent wave of violence in Samaria, Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, Kedumim Council head Uziel Watik, and Karnei Shomron Council head Yonatan Kuznitz issued a joint statement strongly condemning the violence.
“We despise and firmly condemn the habitual violent group that moves from place to place,” the statement read. They called on the police and the IDF “to deal with them firmly and without tolerance.”
Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha council, has previously condemned settler violence and the “tremendous damage” the extremists inflict.
“This is a group of criminals who need to be stopped and simply be made to stop going wild,” Ganz said, calling for a “much tougher and much faster hand” in dealing with the perpetrators.
According to senior officials, the IDF is increasingly concerned that rising settler violence may destabilize the area and disrupt military operations against Palestinian terror groups, The Jerusalem Post’s Yonah Jeremy Bob reported last week.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir strongly condemned the violence against Palestinians, saying, “The IDF will not tolerate the behavior of a criminal minority that stains a law-abiding public. These acts are contrary to our values and represent a red line. We will act firmly on the matter until justice is served.”
However, the army claims that it lacks the legal tools needed to act effectively since the Defense Minister Yisrael Katz’s decision last January to halt the use of administrative detention in such cases.
The Post has been told that the vast majority of IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officials believe that administrative detention of such violent Jewish-Israelis must be restored and were always against suspending that measure.
That puts them at odds with Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who stated last week that “the days of police using the ‘hilltop youth’ [as the rioters are called] as a punching bag are over.”
While IDF officers, settlement leaders, and opposition leaders have criticized the uptick in violence, neither Katz nor Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued any condemnation.
Palestinian terrorism does not excuse the increasing rash of settler violence. It’s a scourge on Israeli society and causes a rippling effect of damage against Israel’s case in all world diplomatic forums.
Besides being morally wrong, the reports, images, and videos of settlers destroying olive groves and attacking Palestinians weaken every Israeli argument about the righteousness of its cause and the strategic necessity for retaining control of the territory it holds since 1967.
The increasingly turbulent situation in the West Bank could severely impact the Gaza ceasefire and the reconstruction plans of US President Donald Trump, an outcome which would undoubtedly unleash his wrath on Israel.
However, the public silence of Netanyahu and Katz and the encouragement of Ben-Gvir point to the only plausible conclusion that the government is part of the problem, not the solution.