Israeli concern: Settlers threaten to ignite the West Bank

The Israeli circles are increasingly concerned about the assaults by settler groups in the West Bank, which have long been directed against Palestinians and have recently extended to target the soldiers of the occupation themselves.

This development has prompted settler leaders to call for deterrent measures against those they describe as a "handful of anarchists" who act in an organized criminal manner.

Elisha Ben Kimon, a reporter for Yedioth Ahronoth, mentioned that warnings were delayed before settlement leaders in the West Bank raised their voices, declaring that "the time has come to stop the crimes of what is called national crime, to halt the riots committed by extremist anarchists, and to prevent harm to the settlement system and the tarnishing of the image of all settlers."

He clarified that a serious incident occurred a few days ago, during which occupation soldiers were attacked by dozens of Jewish anarchists in the West Bank, prompting settlement leaders to express their discontent and disgust at this behavior.

He added in his article that "recent days have seen Israeli discussions about renewing administrative detention orders against settlers, although this will not address the problem deeply, as the handful of anarchist settlers do not distinguish between a Palestinian, a policeman, a soldier, or a settler."

One resident of a settlement in Benjamin was attacked again with gas in his face because he dared to confront these Jewish troublemakers.

He pointed out that "these developments reflect a state of turmoil within the settlement circles that has not been seen in the region for a long time, amid the pursuit of settler leaders for electoral and personal calculations."

He explained that "the Israeli public does not grasp the full picture, as events clearly reveal this, including the posters that recently appeared in the streets of the West Bank attacking General Avi Melchior, the commander of the army in the central command."

However, the most striking and sharp element is that what is happening comes within a broader conflict within the far-right camp, coinciding with the right's preparations for the upcoming primary elections.

He noted that "the settlers described as 'troublemakers' call themselves the 'David's Army,' and present acts of arson and assaults on Palestinians, and recently on soldiers, as carrying out religious instructions."

They are the same "hilltop youth" who set the criminal pattern and chaos, then rush to the next target.

The core numbers amount to a few dozen anarchists, even though they are young, some of whom are not from the West Bank, and most of them have left educational frameworks or have been expelled from them.

He added that "the main goal of these settlers is to settle on state lands and curb Palestinian construction, which they describe as 'illegal.'

There, they also suffer from the same anarchist group that is engaged in a highly welcomed operation in cooperation with the army, where settler youths working in agriculture and sheep herding are brought there, under the auspices of state families from the settlement.

He pointed out that "the absence of organized government accountability makes dealing with this phenomenon distributed among various state institutions, creating tension between settlers on one side, and the police, Shabak, and army on the other."

These three agencies have gone through a series of disturbances in recent years, and their relationships regarding the national crime file are very complex.

The performance of the head of the Jewish brigade is measured by his ability to thwart and prevent these events, while the general of the central command seeks to maintain calm so that his soldiers can focus on curbing Palestinian resistance instead of being preoccupied with confronting Jewish soldiers.

He concluded by saying that "the image that has been formed over the past three years under the current government seems ideal in the eyes of the settlers, but it receives a harsh slap every time national crimes are committed by anarchists, alongside the continued Palestinian attacks with bombs, gunfire, or stone-throwing.