Committee warns against 'anarchy' in West Bank

Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee discusses rising violence in West Bank. Committee Chairman MK Pines warns situation may deteriorate to 'anarchy'

Zvi Lavi
Published: 09.15.08, 13:39 / Israel News

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai (Labor) said at the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee on Monday morning that there has been, “a dramatic increase in riots in the territories against the Palestinians and IDF soldiers.”

The minister said these incidents are unacceptable and if an emergency assessment is not conducted in order to prevent them, “we won’t know what to do with ourselves in a year's time.”

Cause and Effect

Palestinian stabs Yitzhar boy; settlers riot / Efrat Weiss

Nine-year-old boy taken to hospital with light wounds after being stabbed in West Bank settlement Saturday by Palestinian who torched empty home; settlers riot in nearby village in response, at least four Palestinians wounded. Villager says settlers sprayed Star of David on house

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Vilnai said that Defense Minister Ehud Barak has asked the police to step up their activities the Judea and Samaria District, and ensure the judicial system prosecutes offenders to the full extent of the law.

He also emphasized that it is essential to amplify intelligence cooperation against citizens involved in these kinds of incidents.

Vilnai gave the example of the recurring demonstrations outside the home of Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni.

The discussion in the Internal Affairs Committee took place against the backdrop of violent settler riots in the West Bank last weekend, which were prompted by the stabbing of a nine-year-old boy by a Palestinian.

Beilin: They act like they own the land

Committee Chairman MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) said during the discussion that “the picture is one of anarchy and you ask yourself who is the sovereign entity in the field…..the feeling is as though the IDF and the police are playing ping-pong, and every side trusts that the other will act in its stead, throwing the responsibility back and forth. It's kind of like the Wild West,” he said.

MK Yossi Beilin (Meretz) said that within the territories, “there is a group of extremist Jews staging radical operations, which doesn’t heed any leadership and acts as if they own the land.

“They do whatever they want and no one knows what to do with them, including the establishment,” said Beilin.

On the other side of the spectrum, MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) said during the meeting that “amongst the settlers there are hooligans but it is just a small percentage of criminals that we need to catch and jail.”

He also noted the weekly Friday riots near the West Bank village of Bil'in, where groups of from all over the world assemble together with Palestinians and left-wing Israelis to attack IDF soldiers, who Rotem said "do nothing to defend themselves," whereas the response to what happened in Yitzhar was like the army's response to terrorists.

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