When radical Jews rampage unrestrained through Palestinian towns, Jerusalem hands its critics a weapon stronger than any propaganda campaign Hamas could ever manufacture. It undermines our claims to the land
November 18, 2025 15:06
On Sunday morning, after days of silence that had become deafening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally addressed the wave of Jewish extremist violence sweeping across the West Bank. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, he declared that Israel “will take very forceful action… because we are a nation of laws, and a nation of laws acts in accordance with the law”.
It was a necessary sentence, but one that came far too late and carried far too little weight. The violence did not begin this week, nor last month. It has been exploding for more than a year, as a fringe group of Jewish extremists has carried out attack after attack on Palestinians, on their property, and even on IDF soldiers tasked with protecting the area. During that entire time, the political echelon has too often chosen silence, and in Israel today, silence is perceived as permission.
The most recent incidents illustrate the depth of the problem. On November 11, about 100 extremists launched one of the largest attacks in recent memory, targeting Palestinian factories and farmland between Nablus and Tulkarm. Videos from the scene show dozens of masked young men rampaging through a dairy farm in the Palestinian village of Beit Lid – smashing equipment and torching vehicles. When IDF soldiers arrived, they themselves were attacked. A military vehicle was vandalised. Only six suspects were detained and five of them were released within 24 hours.
Then came last Monday. After Israeli authorities moved to evacuate and demolish an illegal outpost, extremist groups again staged revenge attacks, torching cars in a nearby Palestinian town. It was déjà vu. Violence erupts, Palestinians pay the price, soldiers watch helplessly, and politicians almost never issue statements except if foreign governments condemn the events.
According to UN data, more than 260 attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage were documented in October alone. Washington, normally careful not to buy in to every anti-Israel wave, is openly frustrated. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio felt compelled last week to issue a warning that the situation could escalate dramatically if Israel fails to act.
What makes the situation even more disturbing is that the perpetrators often operate in broad daylight. Their faces may be masked, but their identities are not entirely unknown. These are not Iranian sleeper cells. They are Israelis who believe that they have political cover and therefore will face no real consequences.
In too many videos, IDF soldiers appear not as the protectors of all residents under Israeli security control but as bystanders, uncertain what to do. While it is correct that the military’s formal mission is not policing, the West Bank is an area under Israeli military responsibility. Protection of life and property, whether Jewish or Palestinian, is a legal and moral obligation.
Unfortunately, we cannot expect much from the police either. They were hollowed out long before this crisis, are understaffed, under-trained, and under-resourced. In addition, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, has no interest in ordering a crackdown on the extremists, particularly in an election year. The politics have not skipped over other members of the coalition – Defence Minister Israel Katz cancelled the use last year of administrative detention against Jewish extremists, eliminating one of the few tools that had previously proven effective.
It is important to be clear: more than 99 per cent of Israeli residents of the West Bank are law-abiding citizens, families who work hard, raise children, serve in the IDF, and contribute meaningfully to Israeli society. They are being harmed twice – first by the violence itself, which undermines their legitimacy and threatens their security, and second by the government’s failure to enforce the law, which allows a tiny fringe to define their public image.
And this is where the strategic damage becomes severe. There is no diplomat who can explain away this wave of extremist Jewish violence. There is no talking point that can neutralise the images of masked Israelis burning Palestinian olive groves or vandalising farms, nor any Hasbara campaign that can reconcile the contradiction between Israel’s claims to legal and moral superiority and the impunity on the ground.
The solution is simple. The police, the Shin Bet, and the IDF must arrest, prosecute, and jail those responsible. Anything less erodes Israel’s moral foundation and weakens its strategic position.
Why? Because the moral high ground has long been one of Israel’s most vital assets in an era of diplomatic and legal warfare. It is how Israel confronts accusations of genocide in Gaza, responds to claims of starvation, and explains the difference between a democratic state and the terrorists it fights. Israel values life and operates under the rule of law. Israel holds itself to a higher standard than its enemies.
But when extremist Jews rampage unrestrained through Palestinian towns, Israel hands its critics a weapon stronger than any propaganda campaign Hamas could ever manufacture. It undermines our claims to the land. It weakens the moral and strategic case for the settlements. It erodes the argument that Israelis and Palestinians can eventually live in peace. And it makes a mockery of every official statement declaring that Israel is different from its neighbours.
This is why Israeli politicians need to understand that cracking down on these extremist youth is not “giving in to the left” or “helping the Palestinians”. It is patriotic and Zionist. And above all, it is smart policy.
Enforcement will not produce peace, but it will demonstrate that Israel still believes in the rule of law and refuses to be hijacked by a violent fringe. If Israel wants to preserve its moral high ground, not only can it not be be silent – it also needs to act. Now.
The writer is a co-founder of the MEAD policy forum, a senior fellow at JPPI, and a former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. His newest book is While Israel Slept
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