IDF’s West Bank chief: ‘Intolerable’ settler attacks on Palestinians and troops ‘undermine security stability’

The chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, condemns yesterday’s settler attacks against both Palestinians and Israeli troops in the West Bank, saying such acts “undermine security stability.”

“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,” Bluth says to officers in remarks provided by the military.

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

Bluth says that “the directive to IDF soldiers is clear: 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 says.

Bluth says troops are “facing an intolerable situation in which significant attention and resources are diverted to dealing with those anarchists,” 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 adds.

There has been a rise in settler violence this year, especially coinciding with the annual olive harvest, which began in October.

Israeli defense authorities have recorded 704 incidents of “nationalistic crime” since the beginning of the year, compared with 675 in all of 2024. Perpetrators are rarely detained or prosecuted.