Army chief vows to crack down on settler attacks, even as suspects freed after mass riot

Three of the four Israeli suspects who were arrested over Tuesday’s major arson attacks in the West Bank were released from police custody on Wednesday, in a move that sparked ire from Israel Defense Forces officials, who criticized police for their lack of law enforcement against violent settlers.

The arrests were made by the IDF on Tuesday afternoon, after troops responded to reports of a large-scale attack on two Palestinian villages in the central West Bank, which involved dozens of settlers.

The attack was sharply condemned by both the IDF chief of staff and the Central Command chief on Wednesday. It came amid a major wave of settler violence, with attacks taking place on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity.

Additional footage from the scene published by Palestinian media outlets on Wednesday showed dozens of settlers, some masked and some carrying clubs, setting fire to trucks and vehicles in the area.

During the incident, 10 vehicles were torched, along with a warehouse and a plastic factory. Four Palestinians were injured in beatings and by stones thrown by the settlers.

The IDF then transferred the four suspects to the Israel Police, who have jurisdiction over Israeli citizens in the West Bank, alongside the Shin Bet security agency.

According to the military, settlers then attacked a group of soldiers responding to reports of a nearby attack and vandalized a military vehicle.

תיעוד נוסף מהמתקפה מאתמול על אזור התעשייה ליד בית ליד: עשרות מתנחלים, רעולי פנים וחלקם עם אלות, מציתים את המשאיות והרכבים pic.twitter.com/a1jeN4MGU5

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— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) November 12, 2025

After one night in custody, police released three of the four suspects.

The arrest of Israelis suspected of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank is a rare phenomenon, and perpetrators are rarely prosecuted.

מתנחלים תקפו את אזור התעשייה בין העיירות בית ליד ודיר דרף ליד שכם. בתיעודים נראים עשרות מתנחלים רעולי פנים נסוגים כשעשן מיתמר במרחב – כפי הנראה ממספר מוקדים שונים.

מספר רכבים ומבנים הוצתו ביניהם עפ"י דיווחים מפעל 'אל-ג'וניידי'. מספר פלסטיניים נפצעו והיקף הנזק והנפגעים עדיין… pic.twitter.com/ZSxzQymehC

— Matan Golan (@MatanGolanPhoto) November 11, 2025

After the suspects were released, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that he “strongly condemns” the recent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

“We are aware of the recent violent incidents in which Israeli civilians attacked Palestinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them. The IDF will not tolerate phenomena of a criminal minority that stains a law-abiding public,” Zamir said in remarks provided by the IDF.

“These are acts that contradict our values. They constitute crossing a red line and divert the attention of our forces from fulfilling their mission, defending the communities, and conducting offensive operations. We are determined to stop this phenomenon and will act on this matter severely until justice is done,” he said.

Also joining in on the denunciations was the chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who gave a briefing to officers sharply condemning the rise in settler violence against Palestinians and Israeli forces as “intolerable.”

Bluth, who commands troops in the West Bank, said in remarks provided by the military that “The reality in which anarchist fringe youth act violently against innocents and against security forces is an intolerable and extremely serious situation that must be dealt with firmly.”

“Dealing with this phenomenon requires the combined efforts of all systems of the State of Israel, education, welfare, enforcement, and punishment,” he said.

“The directive to IDF soldiers is clear,” Bluth declared. “Do not stand by, and do everything in your power to prevent any act of nationalist crime.”

“We will do this in full cooperation with our partners in the police and the Shin Bet; only in this way will we eradicate the phenomenon,” he added.

Troops are “facing an intolerable situation in which significant attention and resources are diverted to dealing with those anarchists,” he said, instead of “continuing to defend the roads, the communities, and conducting offensive operations to thwart terrorism.”

“This violence harms the settlements and harms the State of Israel. We will not accept a situation in which lawbreakers harm property and innocents, undermine stability in Judea and Samaria, and divert the IDF’s attention from its mission of defense and counterterrorism,” he added.

There has been a sharp rise in settler violence this year, especially recently coinciding with the annual olive harvest, which began in October. In that time, settlers, and sometimes soldiers, have carried out near-daily violence against olive pickers, who sometimes include volunteers from Israel and abroad, Jewish and otherwise.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday that it recorded 264 settler attacks that caused casualties, property damage, or both, just during the month of October.

According to records kept by Israeli defense authorities, there have been 704 incidents of “nationalistic crime” since the beginning of the year, compared with 675 in all of 2024.

Military officials said Wednesday that the IDF lacks the proper tools to handle the increasing number of extremist, violent settlers in the West Bank and the rise in attacks against Palestinians, especially since Defense Minister Israel Katz stopped the use of administrative detentions against Israelis earlier this year.

The chief of the Central Command has the authority to sign “restraining orders” against such suspects, barring them from being in the West Bank, as well as house arrest orders for residents of settlements. Bluth recently signed 30 such orders and plans to increase their use; however, military officials said Wednesday that the IDF needs additional powers to address the issue.

IDF holds drill in West Bank, simulating Oct. 7-like scenarios

Also on Wednesday, the IDF wrapped up a major multi-day drill in the West Bank, involving both the Judea and Samaria Division and the newly established 96th “Gilad” Division, the latter of which is tasked with securing the Jordanian border.

The three-day exercise simulated some 40 “extreme” scenarios and also involved the Israeli Air Force with some 180 aircraft, the Technological and Logistics Directorate, other IDF units, as well as the Israel Police and Magen David Adom ambulance service, the military said.

It was the first-ever drill involving both of the Central Command’s regional divisions.

The IDF said that the scenarios practiced during the drill included attacks on army posts; terrorist infiltration into settlements at multiple locations simultaneously; terror attacks during the mobilization of the 96th Division’s volunteer reservist brigades; fighting in urban areas; rescuing trapped individuals; and responding to mass-causality incidents.

The drill also examined the implementation of the Central Command’s updated defensive and offensive plans, according to the IDF.

The military said the scenarios were practiced “based on the lessons learned from October 7,” including carrying out airstrikes to disrupt attacks at the earliest stages possible, based on the “importance of impact in the initial hours,” as well as activating standby troops, deploying special forces, and “readying the entire IDF system.”

Speaking about the drill, IDF chief Zamir said the exercise was “unprecedented.”

“One of our lessons from October 7 is the responsibility for defense and the change in our security concept. We are thwarting threats as they develop. We are doing that here as well,” he said.

“The scenarios we have practiced in recent days are ones we must not reach. We need to act and thwart the threat before it reaches our doorstep. That is our duty,” Zamir added.

Violence has soared in the West Bank since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, nearly 1,000 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.

The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 62 others, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.