Israeli Army Commander in the West Bank Describes Settler Attacks as "Terroristic"

SadaNews Translation - The commander of the so-called Central Command (West Bank) in the Israeli army, Avi Blot, described some of the attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank as "terrorist acts" in every sense of the word.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, as translated by SadaNews, this statement came during a conference held last night, at a settlement conference against violence.

Blot stated, as translated by SadaNews: "There are clear concepts for some attacks carried out by Jews in the West Bank against Palestinians," noting that these acts are divided into four categories. The first category includes direct attacks such as burning homes or vehicles with their occupants inside, or hitting a person on the head with a stick. This act is considered terrorist, emphasizing that there is a noticeable escalation in such attacks.

He deemed that the Israeli army is one step away from a real catastrophe due to the mass incursions by settlers into Palestinian villages, as occurred at one time in the town of Hawara, pointing out that his forces had to evacuate Palestinians from homes that were subjected to arson.

Blot said, as translated by SadaNews: "To deal with these phenomena, they must be named by their correct name, which everyone fears to repeat, and that is terrorism. This is the correct name."

He referred to other categories, including agricultural crimes, harassment, home invasions, attempts to displace residents, livestock theft, and tree destruction, as well as the issue of illegal settlement outposts and soldiers intervening in favor of settlers while disobeying orders.

He considered that all these acts harm Israel, its security, its international reputation, and the legitimacy of its operations.

He noted that his forces are significantly engaged with these incidents, saying: "We are forced to cancel arrests and search for weapons among Palestinian terrorists in order to deal with Jewish rioters, and this harms our main mission: thwarting terrorism and protecting the population." According to his expression.

Blot warned of horrific scenarios that could ignite the fuse of war in the entire West Bank, highlighting that the danger lies on both sides: "If we do not have enough time to evacuate a family from a house that has been set ablaze, the consequences will be severe, like the murder of the Dawabsheh family. On the other hand, if teenagers who entered to burn a house are caught by Palestinian monitoring committees and killed or kidnapped, it could lead to the entire State of Israel slipping into the abyss."

Blot rejected claims made by some senior settlers that these measures are deterrent, stating: "They are not deterrent; rather, they inflame the situation in the region. They lead to the formation of armed Palestinian security committees and to retaliatory acts. This is a minority of a minority, a few hundred people causing significant damage. The public must realize that there is no innocence here; this is a dangerous phenomenon that we should not be swept away by."