Baruch Goldstein's massacre at the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994 fell on Israel "out of the blue." This definition was given at the time by the heads of the security establishment, who were surprised by the worst act of terror carried out by a Jew: 29 Palestinian worshippers were murdered and 125 were wounded.
Jewish terror has known ups and downs since then, but it is doubtful whether there was a time when the warning on the wall was written in such prominent letters. It cries out not only from the unprecedented joint statement issued yesterday by the chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet and the police commissioner, who are trying to join arms in the fight against the phenomenon, but mainly from the data that indicate that what was once the province of a few, extremists, has now become a mass event.
Dimensions of damage in Turmus Aya,
In 2021, there were 520 incidents of friction (price tag) between Jews and Palestinians. In 2022, the number has increased to 950 incidents, and in 2023 so far there have been 600 incidents (in less than six months). The picture is similar with severe terrorist incidents perpetrated by Jews: 14 incidents in 2021, 25 incidents in 2022, and 25 terrorist incidents since the beginning of the year. This led to a spike in administrative detention orders for Jews: 0 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 8 in 2023. Restraining orders have also increased: 23 orders in 2021, 43 orders in 2022 and 24 orders in 2023.
The trite explanation links the rise in Jewish terrorism to the rise of Palestinian terrorism. The increasing number of attacks (and casualties) leads elements of the Jewish public to "go out and defend itself." This is a far-fetched argument, of course, in every possible respect: in a democratic state, the security forces are the ones who protect the public; A private person does not have permission to take the law into his own hands. In any case, this is also not an act of defending communities and civilians, but rather a net act of revenge: damage to Palestinians and their property, mostly civilians who are not involved in terrorism (the last villages attacked, Silwad, Turmusaya, and um Safa, are relatively quiet villages).
Fierce clashes in Binyamin - settlers set fire to property and buildings in Turmus Aya // Arab networks
The real explanation seems to involve what the extremists see as a tailwind to their activities. There are endless examples of this recently: from Finance Minister Smotrich, who called for the erasure of Huwara (and backtracked) and defined the recent acts of terror perpetrated by Jews as "civil counter-actions," to Minister Ben-Gvir, who called on the Jewish public, "Run to the hills, I back you." And there are many other examples, especially in right-wing parties, when most government ministers remain silent in the face of events for fear of the wrath of the base or the fate of the coalition.
The one who responds is, of course, the world. The anger in Washington and Europe is evident and has been said, and will soon harm Israel. So is the anger in Arab countries, which are increasingly friendly. The greater damage will be done on the ground: every revenge leads to counter-revenge, and so forth. This cycle of bloodshed will only intensify, and instead of protecting Jews, many more will be killed.
What will the reading of running lead to the hills? Ben Gvir, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Two additional damages will be caused outside the premises. The first, in The Hague. What did not happen in the Goldstein massacre may happen now. Since the writing is on the wall, the heads of the defense establishment will not be able to claim "thunder out of the blue" again. They, who sacrifice their lives for security, may pay with their freedom for Jewish terror, which can easily burn down a house with its inhabitants again.
The second, and worst of all, damage is what is happening to Israeli society. From an exemplary notebook she quickly becomes a sick society, in which every Dalit prevails. The extremists claim to be the new Zionists, but woe betide such Zionism. Whoever goes down on Friday night to burn houses and cars is not an example of anything: he is a Jewish terrorist whose place is in prison. It is better for all of us that this happen before calamity comes.
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