The violence we saw this weekend in the West Bank at the hands of far-right extremists has reached another boiling point. If Israel doesn't begin cracking down on these fundamentalists, we are heading toward a deeply dangerous place.
Over the weekend, several dozen far-right Israelis attacked IDF reserve soldiers during one of their rampages in a Palestinian town. This was followed by other disturbing incidents, one in which Jewish Israelis torched a security installation meant to prevent terror attacks. That act was so outrageous that even National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (known for fanning the flames of settler violence) publicly condemned the perpetrators.
I thought we had seen the worst of it on February 26, 2023, when hundreds of Israeli far-right activists stormed and torched the Palestinian town of Huwara, killing one civilian and injuring hundreds. But what unfolded this weekend in Kafr Malik bore far too many parallels, and it must stop.
One of the most difficult and infuriating things for me to reckon with as an Israeli is not the constant threat of rocket fire or living in a country scarred by war, but knowing that Israeli citizens themselves are at times the source of violence and disruption. As someone who has spent years in public diplomacy, I can tell you that nothing damages Israel's image more than when fringe extremists or far-right politicians behave recklessly. Every society has its radicals, and Israel is no exception. But Israel, as a country already facing a tsunami of global antisemitism and delegitimization, cannot afford to allow these individuals to continue spreading violence unchecked.
And this goes far beyond public image. These extremists should not be on the streets at all. They are a danger not only to Palestinians but to Israelis as well, and they must be arrested and prosecuted like any other fundamentalist would be.
This past weekend, far-right activists stormed Kafr Malik, a Palestinian village near Ramallah, setting fire to homes and vehicles. According to Palestinian reports, they attacked residents without provocation. While media outlets often refer to them simply as "settlers," leaders within the settlement movement have stated that many of these attackers do not live in the West Bank but rather cross over from inside the Green Line to incite violence. At least 10 Palestinians were reportedly injured.
When the IDF arrived, they came under fire from within the village and returned fire, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians. It remains unclear who initiated the gunfire, but what is certain is that this confrontation began with a Jewish extremist mob storming a Palestinian town, and it ended in bloodshed. The IDF and Shin Bet described the incident as a pogrom.
Roughly 24 hours later, IDF forces intercepted dozens of far-right activists driving through closed military zones near an illegal outpost built on private Palestinian land. The activists attacked the soldiers with stones and reportedly assaulted the regiment commander, attempting to choke him.
I'm not sure how much longer Israel can afford to avoid confronting the far-right fundamentalists operating in the West Bank. Yes, they may be a fringe minority, but they've been allowed to act with impunity for far too long, emboldened by inflammatory rhetoric from far-right politicians and the perception that they will not be held accountable. Their violence ultimately harms the broader settlement movement, the majority of whom are law-abiding citizens. And they stretch the IDF thin, forcing security forces meant to defend settlements to divert precious resources toward controlling rogue actors from within.
Both IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the weekend's events. Zamir made clear that if this violence is not addressed systematically, it could lead to catastrophe.
Since 2005, extremist Israeli Jews have committed acts of violence against Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, and IDF soldiers, often in retaliation for government decisions to pause settlement expansion or in response to acts of Palestinian terrorism. But regardless of one's stance on how to confront Palestinian violence, so-called "price tag" attacks are too often driven by sheer racism and hatred. Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies Israeli citizens taking the law into their own hands.
These raids on Palestinian villages have become disturbingly frequent, and both the Shin Bet and the IDF have expressed deep concern over how to respond. The IDF's main roles in the West Bank are to thwart terror and to protect Israeli citizens in settlement communities, not to police Israeli civilians or arrest lawbreakers. That job belongs to the Israel Police and the Shin Bet, who must be given both the mandate and better resources to act.
The Israeli government has previously set up task forces to investigate these attacks, but those efforts have been criticized as insufficient and inconsistent. The failure to act decisively has allowed the problem to fester, and it should never have become a political issue in the first place.
Israel is not a society that glorifies terrorism or lawlessness. The overwhelming majority of Israelis (including those in the settlement movement) reject this violence and want it to end. As Israel considers the future of Gaza and what comes next, it must also look inward and ask: How do we finally confront the threat posed by far-right Jewish extremism? Whether it comes from Hamas rockets or extremist settlers with torches, violence is violence – and it endangers us all.
