The head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, unexpectedly came across a violent settler riot Tuesday while traveling to the settlement of Homesh as part of a military exercise simulating a large-scale terrorist infiltration into the West Bank.
Bluth was participating in “Lion’s Roar,” a training drill meant to prepare troops for a mass terror attack in the West Bank. On his way, he encountered about 100 Jewish extremists attacking a Palestinian village in the northern part of the territory. Soldiers from the local brigade chased and detained three suspects as plumes of smoke rose from fires set by the rioters.
Settler rioters near Tulkarm
Video footage published Wednesday showed masked men torching trucks and buildings.
In closed discussions, Bluth reportedly demanded expanded legal powers to tackle the growing wave of settler violence, including the authority to impose heavy fines. His request came amid mounting pressure from field commanders urging the reinstatement of administrative detention orders for Jewish extremists — measures that Defense Minister Israel Katz had canceled earlier this year.
Bluth recently signed about 30 restraining orders against far-right activists, barring them from the West Bank or placing them under house arrest for up to six months, based on intelligence and recommendations from the Shin Bet security agency.
Settler rioters near Tulkarm
He also approved a new regulation authorizing troops to detain and arrest masked individuals who conceal their faces while committing offenses. The same rule allows for the confiscation of vehicles used in such attacks. The army says about 15 vehicles have been seized in recent months.
“If we see soldiers standing by without intervening, we will take disciplinary action,” an IDF official said. “We have even dismissed reservists who failed to act. Anyone who burns a Palestinian home with people inside is a Jewish terrorist. But not every confrontation between Jews and Palestinians constitutes terrorism — some are classified as nationalist crime.”
“These are the barn burners of our generation — reckless and out of control,” a senior officer said. “This year we’ve already recorded 86 nationalist crimes linked to the olive harvest, compared with 25 last year. We need sharper tools to deal with them. The army lacks the investigative powers that the police and Shin Bet have.”
Only a handful of the roughly 100 rioters were detained Tuesday. Two briefly escaped custody, and most of the others were released shortly afterward. “Yesterday the police released most of the rioters we detained and testified against — only one remained in custody,” an army source said.
“We evacuate illegal outposts that are rebuilt repeatedly with external funding, and no one checks whether those donations are legal,” the source added. “Legal groups are advising the suspects to remain silent during questioning, but we’ve still managed to significantly increase the number of indictments compared with last year.”