Netanyahu condemns wave of West Bank settler violence

Prime Minister Netanyahu has condemned the latest wave of settler violence in the West Bank and promised “forceful action” after extremists were filmed destroying vehicles and torching a Palestinian village. Responding to the footage, which was spread widely on social media on Monday, he wrote on X: “I view with great severity the violent riots and the attempt by a handful of extremists to take the law into their own hands. "They do not represent the residents of [the West Bank]. "I call on law enforcement authorities to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law.” Netanyahu is the latest senior politician to criticise the settlers’ actions, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar saying: “The Jewish rioters in [the West Bank] harm the State of Israel, disgrace Judaism, and cause damage to the settlement project. "They are not us. They are not the State of Israel.” It comes after the IDF’s senior officer in the West Bank condemned riots involving more than 100 settlers near Tulkarem. Major General Avi Bluth said that the settlers’ actions “undermine security stability”, adding: “The reality in which anarchist fringe youth act violently against innocents and against security forces is an intolerable and extremely serious situation that must be dealt with firmly. “Dealing with this phenomenon requires the combined efforts of all systems of the State of Israel, education, welfare, enforcement, and punishment.” He also rejected allegations that the IDF is reticent to enforce the law against Jewish extremism in the West Bank, saying: “The directive to IDF soldiers is clear: Do not stand by, and do everything in your power to prevent any act of nationalist crime. “We will do this in full cooperation with our partners in the police and the Shin Bet; only in this way will we eradicate the phenomenon.” He went on: “Troops are facing an intolerable situation in which significant attention and resources are diverted to dealing with those anarchists. “This violence harms the settlements and harms the State of Israel. We will not accept a situation in which lawbreakers harm property and innocents, undermine stability in [the West Bank], and divert the IDF’s attention from its mission of defence and counterterrorism.” There has been a notable uptick in such violence over the past year, with 704 incidents of “nationalistic crime” recorded so far in 2025, compared to 675 in all of 2024, but the rate of prosecution for the attacks remains stubbornly low.

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