Will Israel pay for disturbances in Judea and Samaria in the international arena?The defense establishment is very concerned by the messages received from many countries around the world condemning the incompetence of the security forces regarding the violence of the settlers in recent days. At a time when Iran is closer than ever to nuclear weapons, and Israel is trying its best to influence the United States in its negotiations with Iran on an interim nuclear agreement, defense sources say that Israel cannot afford a deterioration in relations with the United States.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant are currently choosing to focus their efforts on the nuclearization issue in Iran, but at least at this time, when Israel needs more time to complete its preparations for a military option vis-à-vis Iran, it needs the Americans and the moderate Gulf states on its side.
Concentrating on Iran, Netanyahu and Galant, Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
After the severe riots over the weekend, and the general trend of a significant increase in Jewish terrorism and nationalist crime throughout Judea and Samaria, over the weekend the heads of the defense establishment issued a joint and very unusual statement against the attacks on innocent Palestinians. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and police commissioner defined the acts as "nationalist terrorism in every respect" and "attacks that contradict every moral and Jewish value" and promised to fight the rioters. In the unusual statement, the three officials also noted that "this violence increases Palestinian terrorism, harms the State of Israel and the international legitimacy of the security forces to fight Palestinian terrorism." In accordance with the IDF's assessment of the situation, it was decided to reinforce two battalions in the Judea and Samaria Division. The forces will be reinforced starting today, in addition to the reinforcements from the previous week.
Escalation in Samaria - Settlers set fire to property and buildings in Turmus Aya | Arab networks
During the riots, hundreds of Palestinian rioters blocked the Trans-Binyamin Highway and threw stones and objects at vehicles. The military, in response, blocked the road for hours, drawing the ire of the settlers, who felt it constituted surrender to the Palestinians. After similar incidents were recorded two more times, an uproar ensued: Israelis living in the area began clashing with the Palestinians, and settlers were even shot during the clashes, which eventually spilled over into the village, where Israeli rioters burned homes and property.
A soldier at the entrance to Turmus Aya,
The settlers, for their part, are outraged by the treatment given to them. According to them, while every riot must be condemned and action taken against the rioters, the fact that the Palestinians rioted for more than a day on a central road without any disturbance caused anarchy and the feeling that the IDF was not in control of the situation, which led extremists to carry out the harsh events in the village. The IDF's demand of the settlers' leadership, the settlement leaders said, is an attempt to throw away responsibility. "We call on the enforcement authorities to bring them to justice and not to transfer responsibility to us in anticipation of the obvious but equally meaningless condemnations," said Yesha Council head Shlomo Ne'eman.
IDF Spokesperson
Three Israelis were arrested following the events in Binyamin, including an IDF soldier. At first, the soldier met with Honenu's lawyer, Nati Rom, but was later transferred to the Shin Bet and an injunction was imposed against meeting with his lawyer. Following the events in the IDF, it was decided to draw wider attention to the issue of acts of revenge against the Palestinians. A query was directed to the IDF asking how many Palestinians had been arrested in the violent clashes, but so far no answer has been received.
Will disruptions push normalization away? Mohammed bin Salman, Photo: Reuters
In any case, despite Israel's desire to convey messages to the Americans and reach understandings with them on the nuclear issue, senior American officials who spoke with the Israelis in recent days stressed their concern about the events in the West Bank. This is what White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in his conversation with National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi, who also noted that he expects those responsible for the violent acts to be brought to justice. One way or another, there is no doubt that as nationalist crime in the territories runs rampant, the invitation to the White House and normalization with Saudi Arabia is getting further and further away.
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