Settler vigilantes are getting more violent—and Israel’s government is encouraging them
Binyamin Netanyahu is in hock to their supporters
A narrow valley separates the Israeli settlement of Shiloh and the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya in the West Bank. On June 21st over 200 Jewish settlers crossed the valley and set Palestinian fields, homes and cars ablaze in revenge for the killing a day earlier of four Israeli civilians at a nearby settlement. “If the army won’t do what’s necessary to prevent Jews from being murdered, we will create deterrence ourselves,” said one.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Out of control”
From the July 1st 2023 edition
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