‘They believe they won’t be arrested’. Israeli defense officials warn gov’t fueling settler violence in West Bank

Palestinians in the West Bank village of Jinsafut on 21 January 2025, a day after the settler attack

Josh Breiner and Hagar Shezaf report in Haaretz on 22 January 2025:

Concerned about the violent incidents that occurred in the West Bank village of al-Funduq Monday night, security establishment sources say that Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to cancel administrative detentions for settlers now in jail will encourage right-wing extremists to attack Palestinians.

Videos documenting the riot throughout the village of Al-Funduq show dozens of masked Jews setting fire to a truck and a house window.  The head of the Al-Funduq council said settlers also torched a bulldozer, a crane, and a nursery, surrounded a house where a family was sheltering, and hurled stones at it.

Settlers also rioted in the nearby village of Jinsaput, setting fire to buildings and vehicles. According to a security source, three buildings, a tractor and a car were torched.

Army forces were dispatched to the scene, and the Israel Defense Forces said they dispersed the people there. Later that night, additional army forces began an initial investigation into the incident. None of the rioters were arrested.

Two Israelis were critically and seriously wounded on Monday evening in a shooting nearby. Authorities are investigating whether the two, a 17-year-old and the other in his 20s, were accidentally shot by a police officer after they sprayed pepper spray at him.

Evidence reaching Haaretz is raising doubts about whether the police in the Judea and Samaria district can cope with the violence by right-wing extremists. In many cases they arrive only very late.

The Shin Bet security service and the defense establishment officials say they had seen a significant rise in so-called “price-tag” attacks and Jewish terror by right-wing extremists since the deal to free Israeli hostages and the release of Palestinian security prisoners. While incidents have been recorded throughout the West Bank, they are concentrated in the Judea and Samaria areas. The Civil Administration is getting reports every night about attacks on Palestinians and arson of vehicles and buildings.

Masked men rioting in Al-Funduq Monday night torched vehicles and buildings. The Israel Defense Forces and other security arms had been alerted through messages on several WhatsApp groups used by rightist activists that extremists intended to act. But they did not have specifics, and the police failed to identify the actual plans in time.

A Palestinian home set ablaze by settlers, Turmus Ayya, West Bank, in 2023

As has been reported, a police officer and soldier opened fire during the riots at a masked man who had assaulted them with pepper spray, critically injuring a 17-year-old and seriously injuring another young man. Even though the officer told police investigators that he feared for his life and his assailants would “lynch” him, District Commander Gen. Moshe Pinchi or Police Commissioner Danny Levy have not publicly backed him.

The officer, who is attached to the Ariel station, is now under house arrest and has been deemed as under threat for fear that he is being targeted by right-wing activists.

Katz’s decision to release right-wing activists in administrative detention in response to the release of Palestinian security prisoners in the hostage deal will undercut the fight against Jewish terrorism, defense establishment sources said. The decision followed one taken by Katz in November to no longer sign administrative detention orders against suspected Jewish terrorists.

By denying the security establishment that tool he is not only blocking preemptive measures but is also signaling to the far-right that it has the freedom to act with impunity.

On top of this, the Judea and Samaria District Police’s unit entrusted with the fight against Jewish terrorism is not functioning and even ignores intelligence given it by the Shin Bet’s Jewish Division. One such incident is currently being investigated by the Police internal affairs involving Commander Avishai Mualem.

“They [rightist activists] believe that they can act freely and that no one will arrest them,” said one security security official.   The increase in Jewish terror incidents in recent days involves mainly two events. The first was a revenge attack for the shooting attack in Al-Funduq two weeks ago in which three Israelis were murdered. The second involved an attempt by right-wing activists to thwart the deal to return the hostages and release Palestinian security prisoners.

Activists openly coordinate their plans on WhatsApp groups called “Release of Terrorists – Real-Time Updates,” where activists are asked to gather at major intersections.

One such incident occurred Sunday night in Ein Sinya, where dozens of masked men suddenly arrived in organized groups at the entrance to the Palestinian village and began to attack Palestinian passersby and engage in arson. The few soldiers present were taken by surprise and unable to stop the rioters, who demanded that the soldiers not interfere.

The masked activists began throwing stones at Palestinian vehicles, which kept the soldiers busy. Meanwhile, under cover of the violence, another group of masked men entered the village and began setting fire to buildings and vehicles. The IDF alerted the police, but a security force source familiar with the details of the incident says that the soldiers waited between 60 and 90 minutes before a Border Police unit arrived.

“The army could not take control, and there were some who preferred to turn a blind eye,” he said. “When the Border Police arrived, they didn’t enter the village or arrest anyone. They wanted to make sure that no Palestinian would be killed, but that’s it. They didn’t try or even think about stopping [the rioters]. They let them continue throwing stones, but there was no question of arrests.”

In some isolated cases, soldiers have tried to confront the rioters and prevent them from attacking Palestinians. But in most cases they avoid physically confronting the settlers.

The phenomenon of the police turning a blind eye and the lack of arrests is occurs in much of the West Bank, and the Shin Bet is aware of it. “They’re afraid to mess with them; sometimes they even let them run wild. The police are expected to do their job, that’s the minimum,” the source said.

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