Unbridled Pogromists: Israel Must Fight the Violent Jewish Terrorists in the West Bank - Opinion - Haaretz.com
For one brief moment, people held their breath and silence reigned over the country. This was the scene a week ago when we saw the three young women walking through a throng of Hamas fighters in Gaza; the three Israelis were on their way to the Red Cross van that was taking them home.
After waiting many months, filled with anxiety over the prime minister's inhumane refusal to reach a deal to free the hostages, and to a large extent thanks to the old-new U.S. president, we've achieved an agreement. I can't remember an event filled with so much unease, anticipation, impatience and hope like the hours we waited until we saw the first hostages being freed, triggering in us so much emotion and relief.
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The moment was brief and it passed. The next round took place this past Saturday. We all sighed in relief and were emotional once again. There is nothing we love more than immersing ourselves in our collective self-love. We're so wonderful and so humane; we care so much about the hostages.
The great concerns about their fate, the worries about losing them, the joy over their release, even if only the first few of them, created for a moment a renewed sense of solidarity in Israeli society. But things aren't exactly as they seem.
Between one hostage release and another, in the debate in the media and on social media about the great relief and joy, militant settlers in the West Bank continue to harass, attack and beat Palestinians, as they burn and destroy their property.
In recent weeks, many young men, usually wearing masks or other face coverings, have been raiding villages in the West Bank. They're operating in the spirit of Kahanism, which is spreading among great swaths of Israeli society. They go out to harm Palestinians, who have nowhere to run and no way to defend themselves, lacking a police force, a border police force or an army that could protect them.
Undoubtedly there is Palestinian terror, inspired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose evil deeds we often suffer. This terror is murderous, violent and pitiless. Israel battles it with all means at its disposal, aided by the Palestinian Authority's security forces, who share vital information with Israel's security services, helping them find terrorists in their hideouts and arrest them before they carry out their murderous acts.
In very many cases, which, of course, are not extensively covered in our media, the early intelligence provided by PA sources helps us prevent terror attacks, arrest the would-be murderers and save lives. In many cases, the terrorists succeed in carrying out their mission, because, in some cases, they act alone, not as part of a coordinated organization, making it hard to identify them, find them and detain them before they shoot and kill Israeli civilians.
The campaign against terror is a key mission of our army, police and Shin Bet security service. It will continue for a long time, and we will suffer many attacks killing Israeli civilians throughout the West Bank.
The burned-out shell of a car in Jinsafut, last week.Credit: Itai Ron
A peace agreement with the PA, which for now is not on the horizon, will not rid Israel of Palestinian terror in the short run. The bitterness that has built up among millions of Palestinians over decades of occupation will not dissipate in one day or one year. This will be a long and painful process, a complex one that we will have to learn to cope with and contain, managing its pain and thwarting its threats.
But we no longer have the option of resigning ourselves to the violent Jewish terrorism that is spreading across the West Bank. In recent months, young men – and many older men – in settlements have become unbridled pogromists. They pounce on Palestinians who live near locations where terror attacks against Israelis took place and destroy their property, burning their houses and fields. There is no way to obscure this phenomenon, which is expanding and threatening to ignite a third intifada across the entire country.
As we grapple with the need to end the war in the Gaza Strip, complete the return of all the live hostages and conduct proper funerals for the ones who did not survive, heinous lynchings are taking place in areas under Israel's complete military and security control.
This is part of a well-thought-out strategy by the people perpetrating these acts, aimed at expanding the war we've been painfully mired in for over 15 months. They aim to bring the war into the villages and cities of the West Bank in order to evict the residents of these areas, which they would prepare for complete annexation by Israel.
A self-respecting person cannot have the option of ignoring this phenomenon or blurring its effects, risks and threat to the character and values of Israeli society.
Unfortunately, Israel's government is behaving as if these things weren't really happening. Far-rightist Itamar Ben-Gvir, who several times in the past was convicted of supporting terror and has been encouraging the "hilltop youth" to continue their routine of violence, is no longer in the government. But his hatred, spirit and values are still dictating the behavior of several government agencies in the West Bank. This has effectively created a large and convenient space for Jewish terrorists, who don't have to worry about the law enforcement agencies.
Over the past year, several incidents have roiled the public for a short stretch. These included reports about soldiers abusing Hamas terrorists at the Sde Teiman detention center, with a subsequent break-in there and at another army base, with violence used against soldiers and a violation of all the rules about conduct at military installations.
Were any of the dozens detained for a few days prosecuted? Was legal action taken against anyone, as is necessary after the violence of these incidents?
Over the past year, there have been cases of hundreds of kippah-wearing settlers, sometimes accompanied by lawmakers or cabinet members, blocking convoys carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. One may oppose such aid – many such opinions have been expressed in the media, which is still free in our country. But the settlers who went to Kerem Shalom and other Gaza crossings used violence to violate government resolutions and oppose the security forces.
A van that was set on fire by settlers in Jinsafut, Tuesday.Credit: Itai Ron
Have any of these settlers been arrested? Has anyone been prosecuted? Has anyone paid a price for these blatant violations of Israeli law?
In these incidents, not only were none of the required steps taken, but Israel's police, inspired by the person who headed it until recently, stood aside and witnessed assaults against trucks carrying food to people who needed it. The police did not intervene. They did not try to prevent the destruction of food, as if they were an arm of the Jewish terrorists who were acting unimpeded.
In recent days, following the severe terror attacks near the village of Funduq in the Efraim region, settlers launched a revenge attack on the village. They destroyed houses and wreaked other damage, only to sow fear among the people.
It's reasonable to assume that this incident, like endless other incidents across the West Bank and acts of Jewish terror, including ones killing innocent people, will remain unaddressed by our security forces. The Jewish rioters will not be arrested, the guilty parties will not be found, and the supporters and defenders of Jewish terror will be able to declare with their typical sanctimony that this is only a minuscule minority of unruly young people.
The burned remains of a plant nursery in Jinsafut, the West Bank, last week.Credit: Itai Ron
This is not the case. It isn't a small minority, nor are they unruly young people. These are violent terrorists operating in large and organized groups. This is not a negligible minority. There is a large community of rioters carrying rifles that in many cases were given to them unlawfully as part of Ben-Gvir's campaign of distributing weapons.These young people operate in a supportive environment that includes a significant percentage of the adults living in the West Bank.
I know that what I'm writing will enrage the people I'm pointing at. They will use tools that the atmosphere in today's Israel is creating to try to silence me. But I can't remain silent, especially because some of this violent atmosphere, this hatred and terror, may, God forbid, trickle into our army.
It's impossible to avoid talking about this. I've said on various occasions, often publicly, that religious Zionists are our bravest and most daring soldiers. There's nobody like them. It's no accident that many of the soldiers who have died fighting in the current war wore the community's characteristic knitted kippa.
But there are also people among them like Shuvael Ben-Natan – yes, the one whose brother, in his graveside eulogy, talked about how Shuvael killed, burned and destroyed homes and other property in Gaza, just to make the guys happy.
There are grounds for assuming that Ben-Natan wasn't alone. Too many incidents of brutal violence have come to light during this war. Too many crimes have been committed during the fighting by soldiers and officers, including senior officers in our elite combat units.
I can't agree with Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon, a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff who accused the state and the army of committing ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Maybe I'm not as informed as he is; I'm not one of his friends or someone he talks to. But he's an honest man and a courageous fighter who symbolizes the good old IDF no less than the greatest fighters of earlier days.
The disregard of Ya'alon's warning should worry us, as should the stories of officers, including division commanders, who helped instill a spirit of unbridled destruction in situations that demanded restraint to avoid committing war crimes.
The "hilltop youth," a reference to the West Bank hilltops where many live, is an outdated term. They are young men who commit acts of brutality in areas where Israel is responsible for security.
And the failure to stop these "brutality youths" is no accident. It reflects a policy epitomizing the Israel of 2025. The defense minister's glaring cancelation of the administrative detention – detention without trial – of West Bank settlers was a hint. It's clear to these settlers that they can continue their rampages, knowing that the defense establishment will back them and cover for them.
If we don't immediately end these assaults and other acts of violence, we will all be responsible for them.
Ehud Olmert served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel