Israel's government cannot disown West Bank settler violence

Israeli settlers have engaged in widespread attacks on Palestinian towns and villages across the occupied West Bank for months, often with impunity. Recent events in Qusra, a village south of Nablus, where settlers have besieged three Palestinian households since Sunday, prompted a rare condemnation from the Israeli government. Spokesperson David Mercer described the settlers' actions as "deplorable" and "unacceptable," vowing that Israeli authorities would investigate and arrest those responsible.

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Government attempts to distance themselves from the violence are ridiculous. They can say what they want, but they’re complicit.

However, analysts, campaigners, and Israeli parliamentarians have expressed disbelief at the government's attempts to distance itself from the violence. They point to the Israeli military's inability to stop the siege in Qusra, which has included cutting off water and electricity to the village. Some soldiers were even seen mingling with settlers during the siege, raising questions about complicity.

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If you look at the West Bank, you can no longer differentiate between the army and the settlers.

Aida Touma-Sliman, a member of the Israeli parliament, stated that the government's claims of distancing themselves are "ridiculous" and that they are "complicit." She argued that the lines between the army and settlers have blurred, with many settlers serving in the military protecting the settlements they originate from. "The government is supplying them, protecting and arming them. It isn’t opposed to them. Supporting them is policy," she added.

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There is nothing new in what’s happening in Qusra. We’ve been seeing this for decades. When there’s international criticism of the violence, the government condemns it, the settlers withdraw, and then return as soon as attention shifts.

Yair Dvir of the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem noted that this pattern is not new, stating, "We’ve been seeing this for decades." He explained that when international criticism mounts, the government condemns the violence, settlers withdraw temporarily, and then return once attention shifts. Dvir emphasized that "settler violence is state violence" with the shared objective of displacing Palestinians and seizing their land. The article also notes an increase in settler violence in recent months, coinciding with Israel's defiance of international law and the International Court of Justice's ruling to halt its illegal settlement activities.

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Let’s be clear, settler violence is state violence. They both have the same aim: to displace Palestinians and to take their land.