Settlers driving on roads in the West Bank have encountered a genuine problem in recent months: a steep increase in the number of incidents of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. The media has almost completely ignored this phenomenon, except in the case of unusual incidents - such as the critical injuries caused to toddler Adele Biton near the settlement of Ariel some two months ago.
Although the huge network of bypasses created in the West Bank since the 1993 Oslo Accords greatly reduces friction between settlers and Palestinians, there are still places - mainly on the road to Hebron - where Israeli vehicles pass near Palestinian villages. Especially since the end of last year, these cars are now frequently pelted by stones.
The settler leadership is waging a two-pronged attack: The more belligerent wing of the settlers has declared all-out war on GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, and regularly tries to weaken his status and even to have him transferred. In addition, in recent weeks they have begun a well-orchestrated campaign to change the Israel Defense Forces regulations for opening fire in the West Bank, claiming that the present rules limit the response of the soldiers and encourage Palestinian violence.
Alon has been in the sights of the extremists in Judea and Samaria for almost three years. Whether it is because of his nature (he radiates coolness and does not tend to be chummy with the settlers ) or whether because of his wife's left-wing political views, they have singled him out as an obstacle that must be removed. Alon's past in the elite Sayeret Matkal special-operations force didn't help, either. After every attack in the territories he is directly blamed, regardless of the success of his soldiers in repressing Palestinian terror.
That's what happened last month after the murder of Eviatar Borovzky of Yitzhar, when the head of the Samaria Regional Council, Gershon Mesika, publicly called for Alon's ouster, forcing both the defense minister and chief of staff to come to his aid.
At the same time, a noisy public battle has begun recently on the issue of live fire regulations. On Friday, settlers held protests throughout the West Bank, with signs that included "With Nitzan Alon, we have no security."
The twin newspapers Maariv and Makor Rishon published an investigation and a series of articles based on the testimony of soldiers serving on the West Bank. The soldiers, including several reservists, complained that the army does not allow them enough force to deal with those who throw stones and incendiary devices. They told journalists that they felt humiliated by the heckling of participants in the Palestinian demonstrations.
It's true that the IDF has adopted a policy of relative restraint in the territories, despite the violent demonstrations. This approach is anchored in a long-standing insight that, in addition to the moral aspect, killing Palestinian civilians - women and children, but also young men armed with "cold" weapons (stones ) - leads only to long periods of escalation.
At the beginning of the year, after a series of incidents in which four unarmed Palestinians - including a young female student - were killed, Alon issued a document designed to clarify the open-fire regulations to his forces, and to explain the need for a measure of restraint and good judgment in order to prevent igniting the entire sector. This comes at a time which is also considered sensitive due to the diplomatic freeze and some Palestinian demands to begin a third intifada.
The frustration of soldiers dealing with the demonstrations should not be downplayed, but it's hard to accept their equating of violent clashes - which usually take place inside or near the Palestinian villages - with the incidents on the roads. In most of the demonstrations, Israeli citizens do not face any real risk; those confronting the stones and incendiary devices are soldiers, who have protective equipment.
One gets the impression that the fighters are complaining more about the sense of humiliation and insult to what they consider national pride, than about a genuine tactical or strategic problem. There is no question that reservists, in particular, should receive more comprehensive preparatory training before operational activity in the territories, in order to learn how to deal with large demonstrations - whose like they have not experienced in the past decade. But it's a more a question of training than of regulations.
The counterargument is that weakness is weakness - the IDF is seen as passive in confronting the rioters, and therefore Israeli civilians are attacked on the roads. But the demonstrations that take place these days - mainly on Fridays and in defined places - don't, for the time being, even approach the dimensions of the huge events of the first intifada or the start of the second one in 2000.
The soldiers have sufficient means of responding to the dangers confronting Israelis on the roads. There is a great deal of logic in Alon's argument that unnecessary harm to Palestinians, when not required for reasons of self-defense, will only reignite the West Bank, and for a long time.
The conflict takes a broader political context given that the current administration is considered one of the most pro-settler governments in years. Supporters of the settlement enterprise from Habayit Hayehudi and Likud sit in important ministries crucial to settlers, including the housing and construction, interior, industry, and religious services ministries. Habayit Hayehudi also controls important committees, including the Knesset Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
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