How Should the World React to Jewish Terror? - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Western and Arab diplomats have discussed a possible multinational observer force which could be established if Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank continues to mount and Israel remains lax about thwarting it.
Diplomatic sources say the one idea under consideration is the establishment of a multinational Arab-Muslim force comprised of the “normalization countries” (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco) along with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, and perhaps even Saudi Arabia, which has no formal relations with Israel. Though these talks are unofficial and nonbinding, they are a good indication of the way the wind is blowing.
The Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet and Israel Police remain concerned about the security deterioration and the emergence of a vicious cycle of Palestinian terror attacks and reprisal rampages by settlers. To keep things from spinning out of control, this week Israel's military will bolster its forces in the West Bank with two more battalions from the Nahal Brigade and the School for Air Defense (known as Bisla). The Border Police have also added units, as have the police, which added dozens more officers to the hundreds already serving in the West Bank. The Shin Bet has boosted its intelligence-gathering efforts with technological means as well as with agents (HUMINT).
Israeli security forces arrive in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya after a settler riot there, on Wednesday.Credit: Hadas Parush
The agency is seeing that nationalistically motivated crime by settlers is gradually becoming more organized and less spontaneous than it was until now, in part through an increase in organization by groups on social media with clear leaders.
- Four months after Hawara settler riots, Israel fails to prosecute individuals involved
- Israeli settlers are now looking to occupy the IDF
- Holocaust, pogroms and settler violence: Israel can't ignore Jewish history
So far, a majority of terrorist actions by Jews have not been thwarted ahead of time, and just as serious, police and army forces have arrived late to the scene and failed to prevent the torching of cars and houses, vandalizing of property, uprooting of trees, vandalizing of agricultural crops, rock-throwing and even gunfire, as occurred in Hawara, Turmus Ayya, Umm Safa and other places. It bears noting that while the military and the police do not differentiate between combatting Palestinian terror and Jewish terror, most departments and divisions in the Shin Bet are concerned with thwarting Palestinian terror while only a few are focused on Jewish terror and Jewish nationalist crime.
There are currently 25 regular IDF battalions operating throughout the West Bank. Taking into account the Border Police and the police, this amounts to about eight brigades, or a little more than two divisions. Add to that the intelligence, technology and logistics units on the home front which support all this activity, and it means that between a quarter and a third of all the military's forces, and close to half of the ground forces, are engaged in policing the West Bank. And this means that what we have is a de facto “occupation corps," with all the moral and operational considerations that this entails. Of course, it raises questions about the ground forces’ readiness in other arenas, primarily against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli security forces in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, where settlers rampaged, on Wednesday.Credit: Hadas Parush
Although security officials are not saying so explicitly, it is obvious that the recent reinforcements being made are mainly intended to halt further waves of settler violence. “Settler lawlessness against Palestinians undermines Israel’s sovereign standing in Judea and Samaria. This is the main source of concern and the main reason things could get out of control,” one senior diplomatic source said.
A vacuum in the field, and a rhetorical vacuum
With hardline ministers setting the tone, the government is unlikely to instruct the security forces to take firm action against Jewish terrorist activity and Jewish nationalist crime. As usual, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denunciations only arrive belatedly, while the “moderate” ministers like Avi Dichter and Nir Barkat maintain meek silence.
The harsh denunciations expressed over the weekend by army Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Police Chief Kobi Shabtai and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar are lost in the vacuum of the government’s utterly feeble response. Meanwhile, its “rhetorical disregard” for what has been happening is leading to things like MK Orit Strock castigating the security establishment as a “Wagner force,” and these outrageous statements reverberating among supporters of the far right.
Torched vehicles in the town of Turmus Ayya after settlers rioted in revenge for the Palestinian attack near the settlement of Eli.Credit: Hadas Parush
The army and police say that their commanders in the field have a clear directive from the IDF chief of staff and the police chief to act firmly and with all available means to stop Jewish terror activity and Jewish nationalist crime. The Shin Bet is weighing the possibility of increasing the use of administrative detentions. Nonetheless, it is clear to all involved that significant action is required, and that the rioters must be confronted, including by firing in the air – a measure the army uses only in select circumstances.
The defense establishment is well-aware that the Jewish terror activity is diverting attention from the fight against Palestinian terror, which has sharply increased in the past half year, particularly in the northern West Bank, and which, as of Monday, also included the firing of two rockets from Jenin.
Israel’s already shaky foreign relations are also being hurt, especially with Arab states. While Netanyahu continues to fantasize about normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, the settler violence is making this much more of a long shot than it was to begin with.
A rallying cry in early twentieth century Czarist Russia was “strike the Jews and save the homeland.” Deep into the third decade of the twenty-first century, there’s a growing sense that the Israeli regime has adopted a similar approach: “Strike the Palestinians and deepen the occupation.”