Israel's police, security forces support and enable West Bank settler violence - opinion

The article contends that Israeli police and security forces actively enable and support violence perpetrated by West Bank settlers against Palestinians. It questions what an Israeli citizen should do when law enforcement fails to respond promptly to settler attempts to enter Palestinian homes, damage property, and physically attack individuals attempting to protect Palestinians.

The author recounts an incident in Taiba where settlers allegedly invaded twice daily, despite army prohibitions on grazing. When the author intervened to remove a donkey tied to Palestinian fodder bales, a police investigator deemed the action illegal. The author countered by referencing the biblical commandment "Do not stand idly by while your fellow bleeds," questioning if standing by during theft was the expected response.

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Do not stand idly by while your fellow bleeds

Following the incident, the author faced an automatic 15-day restraining order, a condition for release. The author argues that such orders are often unfair and prevent citizens from fulfilling their responsibility to defend others. While a judge later significantly reduced the restraining order, stating that citizens are not meant to "put matters in order" and that the police must, the author questions what citizens should do when officials fail in their duty, especially when theft is occurring openly.

The piece also touches upon the broader issue of collective punishment and the justification of settler violence. A jail social worker's view that all Palestinians should be transferred and villages destroyed if a terrorist attack occurs is contrasted with the author's assertion that hate engendered by oppression endangers Jewish survival by driving people towards extremism. The article criticizes the notion that "Jewish survival justifies collective punishment" and suggests that such actions fuel the very forces seeking to destroy Israel.

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I don’t think that a citizen is supposed to put matters in order. The police must put matters in order.