The Biden administration has made clear it is aware of the tensions. “I continue to be alarmed about extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank; pouring gasoline on fire is what it’s like,” President Biden recently said. “It has to stop now.” The administration also took the unusual step of seeking, and getting, assurances from Israel that none of the thousands of American assault weapons sought by Israel would go to civilians in the West Bank settlements.
Mr. Netanyahu, however, has shown little interest in restraining his allies. Though he formed a special war cabinet with opposition leaders to manage the conduct of the campaign against Hamas, his original coalition government remains intact, including the religious-nationalist extremists Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the minister of national security, both unequivocal champions of settling Jews in the West Bank, which they refer to as the biblical Judea and Samaria. Before the Hamas raid, the far-right government was pushing for “judicial reform” which drew broad and sustained opposition in Israel as an attempt to free the government of judicial restraints on its actions in occupied territory.
Despite the national preoccupation with Gaza over the past month — or perhaps because of it — the zealots have kept at it. Mr. Smotrich has called for widening Palestinian no-go areas around Israeli settlements, including a ban on Palestinians harvesting olives near the settlements. Mr. Ben-Gvir has dismissed concerns raised by Israeli intelligence agencies about settler violence, referring to it as nothing more than “graffiti” by Israeli youths on Palestinian property and reportedly asking why there was so much attention given to it.
It’s hardly graffiti. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 150 Palestinians, including 44 children, have been killed by Israeli forces, and eight others by Israeli settlers, since Oct. 7, and at least 111 Palestinian households comprising 905 people were displaced. In that same time, three Israeli soldiers were killed in attacks by Palestinians. That represents an increase from an already high average of three incidents against Palestinians a day so far this year to an average of seven a day.
The figures don’t give the full story of the ways in which Palestinians are terrorized: the uprooting of hundreds of their olive trees, the vandalizing of property, the beatings and shootings, and the roads and outposts the settlers, and sometimes the army, have built to connect settlements and outposts.In an incident reported by The Times last week, a Palestinian vendor and his family were picking olives when four armed Jewish settlers showed up and began yelling. The Palestinians fled, but the vendor, Bilal Mohammad Saleh, turned back to grab his phone. Mr. Saleh was shot dead, the seventh Palestinian to be killed by settlers since Oct. 7.
The Biden administration has expressed concern about the tensions in the West Bank caused by extremist settler attacks on Palestinians. President Biden recently stated, “I continue to be alarmed about extremist settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank; pouring gasoline on fire is what it’s like. It has to stop now.” The administration has also obtained assurances from Israel that no American assault weapons sought by Israel will be given to civilians in the West Bank settlements.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has shown little interest in restraining his allies, including religious-nationalist extremists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. These ministers are advocates for settling Jews in the West Bank, which they consider to be the biblical Judea and Samaria. Before the recent conflict with Hamas, the far-right government was pushing for “judicial reform,” which faced opposition in Israel as it aimed to remove judicial restraints on actions in occupied territory.
Despite the focus on Gaza, extremist settlers have continued their provocative actions. Smotrich has called for expanding Palestinian no-go areas around Israeli settlements and banning Palestinians from harvesting olives near these settlements. Ben-Gvir has dismissed concerns about settler violence, referring to it as mere “graffiti” on Palestinian property and questioning the attention given to it.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces have killed 150 Palestinians, including 44 children, since October 7. Additionally, eight Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers, and 111 Palestinian households comprising 905 people were displaced. During the same period, three Israeli soldiers were killed in attacks by Palestinians. This represents an increase in incidents against Palestinians from an already high average of three per day to an average of seven per day.
The figures presented do not fully capture the extent of the terror endured by Palestinians, including the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees, property vandalism, beatings, shootings, and the construction of roads and outposts by settlers and sometimes the army. In a recent incident reported by The New York Times, a Palestinian vendor and his family were picking olives when armed Jewish settlers arrived and began yelling. The Palestinians fled, but the vendor, Bilal Mohammad Saleh, was shot dead, becoming the seventh Palestinian killed by settlers since October 7.