Shin Bet chief warns settler violence doing ‘indescribable damage’ to Israel
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has warned that increasingly overt settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is wreaking “indescribable damage” on Israel, changing it “beyond recognition".
In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that was published by Channel 12 News on Thursday, Bar took aim at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, warning that his incursions into Al-Aqsa mosque could “lead to bloodshed.”
Ben Gvir has led repeated raids on the Al-Aqsa compound in occupied East Jerusalem, an Islamic site where unsolicited visits, prayers, and rituals by non-Muslims are forbidden according to decades-long international agreements.
In his letter, Bar emphasised that settler violence in the occupied West Bank had become increasingly “widespread and visible,” noting that extremist groups were being armed with weapons “that have been legally distributed by the state".
He added that the government’s light-handed approach and “secret” police backing of far-right settler group, Hilltop Youth, who have “long become a widespread phenomenon of violent activity against Palestinians,” is encouraging their actions which he said were tantamount to “terrorism".
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This tacit support, he wrote, has legitimised the movement and meant it has “significantly” expanded, and in so doing, undermined the work of the security forces.
He added that policing the group's actions was merely a “ band aid” and “not the basis for addressing the root of the problem,” emphasising that this must be achieved by the country’s leaders.
Bar said that ratcheting settler attacks has resulted in Israel’s “global delegitimisation,” adding additional strain on security forces and prompting retaliatory attacks by Palestinians.
Bar also took aim at Ben Gvir, citing his recent raid of Al-Aqsa mosque, warning that “developments in this direction will lead to bloodshed and will unrecognisably change the face of the State of Israel".
“I am convinced that we need an explicit statement that this is wrong and dangerous – morally and for security. We need an inter-ministerial effort to stem the phenomenon. I’m convinced that this needs to be one of the government’s main goals before it’s too late,” he added.
Spin
In response, Ben Gvir reportedly stormed out of a cabinet meeting on Thursday when Netanyahu refused to back him.
Gallant backed Bar’s letter, saying that Ben Gvir’s "irresponsible actions… endanger national security and create division in the nation".
In a statement, Ben Gvir’s office accused Bar of “trying to create spin and attack minister Ben Gvir to deflect from the discussion of his responsibility for the concepts and failures that led to 7 October.”
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Settlers regularly carry out attacks against Palestinians in the occupied territory, often under Israeli military protection.
These attacks have increased following the outbreak of the war on Gaza.
Despite occasional condemnations by Israeli officials, leading human rights organisations have said on several occasions that Israel was responsible for the increase in violence in the territory.
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