OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israel´s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Wednesday criticised a surge in settler attacks in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, calling the violence against troops and civilians “morally and ethically unacceptable”.
At least six Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of March, according to an AFP tally.
“Recently there has been an increase in nationalist crime incidents, some of which are directed against our troops and toward civilian populations,” Zamir said, referring to Palestinians living in the territory, as he visited the Central Command.
“It is unacceptable that during a multi-front war the IDF is forced to confront a threatening minority from within,” he said, adding that the attackers “do not represent the wider population.”
“I call on all authorities in the country to act against this phenomenon and stop it before it is too late,” he said, in a statement issued by the military.
“Anyone who believes these actions contribute to security is mistaken -- they are morally and ethically unacceptable and cause extraordinary strategic damage to the efforts of the IDF,” he said.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It has continued despite the ceasefire and spiked since the start of the war against Iran.
Alongside roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
While most Israeli settlers do not engage in violence, a small but militant fringe has been linked to attacks on Palestinians.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,050 Palestinians -- many of them militants, but also scores of civilians -- in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war. Official Israeli figures say that 45 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have also been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.
The current Israeli government, considered one of the most right-wing in the country´s history, has fast-tracked settlement expansion and recognised some outposts.
On Tuesday, the United Nations called on Israel to immediately halt settlement expansion in the West Bank, which has led to the forced displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians over the past year.
It “appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing,” it said.
Former Israeli minister and centrist lawmaker Meirav Cohen slammed the violence.
“The reality is that right now, villages are being attacked, communities are being deliberately driven from their homes, sheep
are being slaughtered, orchards are being burned, people are being attacked simply because they are Arab,” Cohen said on Tuesday.
