RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Times of Israel — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesThe United States wants Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn a siege imposed by extremist settlers on two homes in a Palestinian village in the West Bank, US and Israeli officials said on Friday, as the siege continued for the sixth day with no clear end in sight, and with the reason for the lack of enforcement against the settlers unclear.
Netanyahu has remained silent since the settlers first established an illegal outpost outside the homes of two Palestinian families in the Nablus-area village of Qusra on Sunday, and throughout the past three days of failed attempts by security forces to remove the settlers — who were characterized by Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday as "hilltop youths."
While the siege has not drawn any considerable criticism from the Israeli political echelon, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee — a strong supporter of Jewish settlement in the West Bank — condemned the settlers behind it on Thursday as "Israeli terrorists."
Washington began to protest after learning that the home of a Palestinian-American was among those under siege, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions of which they had knowledge. Neither Netanyahu's office nor the White House immediately responded to Reuters' request for comment.
On Friday afternoon, there was fresh political outrage after an armed settler was filmed firing into the air and then aiming his weapon at Palestinians and left-wing Israeli activists near Bethlehem.
Katz, who had thus far refrained from commenting on the situation unfolding in Qusra, announced on Friday that he had instructed the IDF to draft a plan for transferring civilian law enforcement powers in the West Bank to the Israel Police.
As the police are already the body largely responsible for such enforcement in the West Bank, the announcement was met with skepticism by legal and enforcement officials.
Katz seemed to be implying he wanted police to be fully in charge of handling settlers and for the military to wash its hands of the issue. Today, the IDF has overall authority in the West Bank, and soldiers are often called to handle security matters relating to clashes and confrontations between Palestinians and settlers, but police are ultimately in charge of enforcing Israeli law and handling any criminal behavior.
The IDF detains Jews only briefly in cases of criminal activity before handing them over to police officers, who often release the suspects without charge, including in cases of rampant and sometimes deadly settler violence.
The statement from Katz's office refrained from mentioning Qusra or explicitly referring to Jewish extremism, instead proclaiming that the military's job was to "fight Palestinian terrorism" and protect Israel's border, not to chase "youths on hilltops" — a common euphemism for settlers who attack Palestinians in the West Bank.
Nor was the IDF capable of "enforcing civilian matters" in the West Bank, Katz said, given the "welcome increase expected in the number of settlers" there due to the government's approval for dozens of settlements and farming outposts.
Instead, he said, the Israel Police should fight civilian crime in the West Bank, "like everywhere else in the State of Israel."
Katz claimed that he had directed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials in a meeting on Thursday to coordinate with counterparts in the Israel Police "to prepare and establish a force suitable for dealing with and handling civil matters."
Police would be "granted all the necessary powers and budgets" to carry out the mission, the statement said.
An unidentified legal official speaking to the Ynet new site said the defense minister’s statement was "a populist sham that amounts to nothing."
"The police already have enforcement powers today, which they do not apply," the official said, blaming the atmosphere created by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
"Under international law, the military is the sovereign authority in the area and is responsible for it, and it will remain responsible. What exactly will change? We simply need to enforce the law, rather than issue hollow statements. Minister Katz, who canceled administrative detention orders against Jews in the West Bank, is responsible for the deterioration, along with the military and police.”
A police source cited by Ynet added that for police to have full enforcement powers in the West Bank, Israel would need to annex the territory and apply full sovereignty over it.
“The move by Defense Minister Israel Katz is intended to divert criticism away from the IDF, which is the sovereign authority on the ground, and onto the police," a senior police official in the region said.
Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh condemned Katz's announcement as a "blatant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions and signed agreements."
In a statement carried by WAFA, the PA's official news agency, al-Sheikh said the move "represents a new attempt to impose Israeli law and sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to entrench the unlawful annexation of Palestinian territory."
In Qusra, the IDF has been operating on and off for days to remove the outpost that settlers erected at the entrance to two homes on the village outskirts.
The IDF made an attempt on Wednesday to dismantle the tent being used by the settlers on the outskirts of Qusra and remove them from the scene, but failed to clear them out.
The military had said Thursday that it launched an operation in Qusra to "protect the residents." The operation saw Israeli forces take over several Palestinian homes, clearing out some families in the process, and mostly leave overnight, with the settlers still in place, according to residents who spoke with The Times of Israel.
The residents said Israeli troops remained inside the besieged hom...
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