3 hours ago
6
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, injuring four Palestinians and attacking Israeli soldiers in the latest incident of rising settler violence.
The settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, setting vehicles on fire and damaging property belonging to a Bedouin community, with charred remains of cars left behind the next day.
The al-Juneidi dairy factory, a big employer in the area, was also damaged in the attacks, and four of its trucks laden with products were set alight.
Israeli settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza started two years ago, with at least 1,001 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by settlers and Israeli soldiers. According to the UN, 260 attacks took place in October, the deadliest month for settler violence since it started keeping track in 2006.
Human rights groups and the UN have warned that settler violence is taking place in a “permissive environment” and with the backing of key Israeli ministers. The UN human rights office said settlers were seeking to “accelerate displacement of Palestinians from their land, raising concerns of forcible transfer”.
In a rare statement on Wednesday, the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the latest attacks, saying the “shocking and serious” incident had been carried out by a “handful” of perpetrators. He called for authorities to “act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon and to strengthen the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] fighters and security forces who protect us day and night”.
His remarks were echoed by the top Israeli military official in the West Bank, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, who called the violence “unacceptable”.
The statements were unusual for Israeli officials, who have largely ignored settler violence against Palestinians over the past two years even as it has grown more widespread. The Israeli military and government officials have rarely addressed the settler movement’s growing violence against Palestinians, despite its contravention of Israeli and international law.
Bluth said it was only “by sheer luck” that violent incidents had not “resulted in fatalities”, despite the fact that settler and police violence has resulted in more than 1,000 Palestinian deaths over the past two years. Asked for clarification, the Israeli military said it was “checking” the comments.
Israeli settler violence has moved into the mainstream of Israel’s political scene, particularly in the past two years. The Israeli Knesset often hosts settlers to weigh in on policymaking. Israeli police and armed forces are regularly filmed standing by as settlers carry out acts of violence against Palestinians, intervening only if Palestinians fight back.
The Israeli army said soldiers had responded to Tuesday’s settler attacks, causing the settlers to flee to a nearby industrial zone, where they attacked soldiers and damaged a military vehicle.
The police also said they had arrested four settlers involved in the attacks, a rarity as settlers generally go unpunished in what human rights bodies call a system of impunity.
In July, Yinon Levi, a settler formerly under US sanctions, was caught on video shooting to death the Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen. He was briefly arrested and then released by Israeli authorities.
Human rights groups have accused the Israeli government of standing by as settlers carry out widespread attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. They point to the far-right makeup of the current Israeli government, including the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom are prominent leaders in the Israeli settler movement.
As attacks against Palestinians have increased, Ben-Gvir has helped loosen gun regulations and establish “civilian guard units”, which activists have warned could exacerbate the rising violence.
The increase in attacks by settlers has led to international outcry. Last month, a video of an Israeli settler clubbing a woman in the head – causing her to fall unconscious – triggered a wave of condemnations.
In October the UN human rights office accused Israeli authorities of investigating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank only “in extremely rare cases”.
“In these few cases, there appears to have been no progress, maintaining the almost complete impunity for the use of unlawful force and the unlawful killing of Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” the UN said in a statement.
In Beit Lid, one of the two villages attacked on Tuesday, government statements did little to calm the fear of settler violence.
“At any moment something could happen … This can’t go on. It can’t be that we keep living our whole lives in a state of fear and danger,” said Mahmoud Edeis, a resident of the village.
