2 weeks ago
Why Israel Fails to Curb Spiralling West Bank Settler Violence
In a place called the West Bank, two groups of people often disagree: Palestinians and Jewish Israelis who live in settlements there.
Some settlers have been scaring and hurting Palestinian families who live nearby.
In one village called Qusra, people are so afraid they stay inside their homes all day.
The Israeli army is supposed to keep the peace, but many people say it does not stop the settlers.
A group called Yesh Din found that almost every complaint about settler violence never ends in punishment.
The United States used to punish some violent settlers with special sanctions, but President Donald Trump stopped those sanctions.
Israel's leaders want to keep building settlements, and even leaders who criticise the violence still support them.
Most countries think the settlements break international law, but Israel disagrees.
So far, nothing has fixed the problem, and the families in Qusra are still scared.
Palestinians in the West Bank village of Qusra say they have been trapped inside their homes for days because of threats from Israeli settlers.
The West Bank is home to nearly 150 Israeli settlements with more than 500,000 settlers, plus hundreds of unauthorised outposts.
Israeli rights group Yesh Din says about 94 percent of investigations into settler violence since 2005 ended without an indictment.
US President Donald Trump rescinded Biden-era sanctions on settlers and appointed settlement supporter Mike Huckabee as US ambassador.
Israeli leaders, including prime ministerial rivals such as Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, condemn the Qusra violence but mostly support settlement growth.
- Who
- Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank, especially villagers in Qusra, and Israeli settlers, alongside leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.
- What
- Spiralling Israeli settler violence against Palestinians that Israel has failed to curb, along with continued government support for settlement growth and separate legal systems for settlers and Palestinians.
- Where
- The occupied West Bank, particularly the village of Qusra about an hour's drive from Tel Aviv; the article also cites Jerusalem, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
- When
- The violence intensified after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023; the article describes events on a recent Thursday and Friday, ahead of Israeli elections in October.
- Why
- Settlers and successive Israeli governments aim to cement Israeli rule over the territory and prevent a Palestinian state, while critics say weak enforcement and the rollback of US sanctions have let the violence continue.
Critics: Palestinians, rights groups and the international community
Israel's government and the settler movement
Legality of the settlements
Critics: Palestinians, rights groups and the international community
Most of the international community and human rights groups view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, and some say the separate legal systems amount to apartheid.
Israel's government and the settler movement
Israel regards the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people, sees the settlements as key to security, and denies the apartheid claim.
Who is responsible for the violence
Critics: Palestinians, rights groups and the international community
Palestinians and rights groups say the military frequently turns a blind eye to settler violence and that investigations rarely lead to convictions.
Israel's government and the settler movement
The Israeli military calls settler actions 'illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable,' says it dismantled two outposts near Qusra and detained one Israeli, and says it tries to maintain law and order.
How Israeli leaders should respond
Critics: Palestinians, rights groups and the international community
Opponents such as Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett condemn the violence as 'anarchy' and 'terrorism' by an extremist minority and say it must be eradicated from within Israel's own ranks.
Israel's government and the settler movement
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depends on the support of hard-liners Ben Gvir and Smotrich to keep his job after October elections, and most Israeli leaders back settlement growth.
Key facts
- West Bank settlements
- Nearly 150 settlements housing more than 500,000 Jewish settlers
- Unauthorised outposts
- Hundreds established by radical settlers with military protection
- Settler violence investigations
- Yesh Din: about 94% closed without indictment since 2005; 3% led to convictions
- Palestinians under military rule
- About 3 million, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy
- US sanctions
- Biden-era sanctions on settlers rescinded by President Donald Trump at the start of his second term
- US Ambassador to Israel
- Mike Huckabee, who called the settlers 'terrorists'
- Law enforcement shift
- Defence Minister Israel Katz announced plans to transfer settler law enforcement entirely to Israeli police
- Cabinet members sanctioned
- Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich sanctioned by Western nations for inciting extremist violence
Quotes
Mike Huckabee
U.S. Ambassador to Israel
“"in the face of anarchy and violent lawbreaking by an extremist minority."”
deccanchronicle.com
“"boys on the hills."”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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