Settler leader urges law enforcement action to rein in violent extremists

Settlement leader Yisrael Ganz says Israel should be using law enforcement tools it has to put an end to settler violence, marking a rare instance of criticism of the phenomenon coming from inside the movement.

Reacting to a mass settler riot after midnight in which over 100 extremists attacked Palestinians, torched homes and clashed with troops in the West Bank village of Jalud, Ganz says “incidents like what happened overnight can and must be prevented.”

“The state has powers and tools to stop this phenomenon, and it needs to use them,” says Ganz, who heads the Binyamin Regional Council in the central West Bank and also leads the non-governmental Yesha settlement umbrella group.

Like other government figures offering condemnations in the wake of the attack, Gantz urges the prosecution of those responsible, even as he appears to point a finger at law enforcement for failing to do so.

“The law must be enforced in [the West Bank] exactly like it is enforced in Tel Aviv or Kfar Saba,” he says.