June 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The finance minister and radical face of the Israeli government, Bezalel Smotrich, has charged this Sunday against the Israeli security forces, which on Saturday unanimously condemned the “nationalist terrorism” of the hundreds of Israeli settlers who in recent days have attacked Palestinians in the West Bank in retaliation for attacks.
The heads of the Armed Forces, the Police and the Shin Bet – secret services for the interior and the Palestinian territories – published a joint communiqué on Saturday condemning “nationalist terrorism, in the broadest sense of the term”.
Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, has responded immediately. “The attempt to equate murderous Arab terrorism and civilian (Israeli) response actions, however serious, is morally wrong and practically dangerous,” he posted on Twitter.
“The Armed Forces and the security forces should act more firmly against terrorism and against Arab revolts. We cannot accept that the settlers feel like ducks in the middle of the road,” he argued.
Thus, he has criticized the application of administrative detention to settlers – a legal formula that allows the indefinite imprisonment of suspected terrorists without charge – and the “collective punishment” that the controls installed in the Ateret neighborhood after the attack entail. on Saturday against the Palestinian village of Umm Safa.
“Even in this complex situation, taking the law into your own hands is bad because it can lead to a loss of control, to dangerous anarchy,” he argued.
The Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, has positioned himself along the same lines, who has asked for explanations for the security controls in Ateret. Ben Gvir was the one who last Friday urged settlers to “storm the hills” to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that “the proper response against terrorism involves the fight against terrorists and an effort to deepen our roots in accordance with the construction plans we have approved; with an emphasis on the word ‘approved'”.
“Our government”, Netanyahu stressed, “not only does not support these acts, but it will act decisively against them”, according to statements collected by the ‘Times of Israel’.
Since Wednesday, groups of settlers have set fire to homes and vehicles in Palestinian towns, destroyed books in a mosque and opened fire on civilians. There is a dead Palestinian, Omar Qattin, 27 years old. On Saturday, four settlers, including an off-duty soldier, were arrested for an attack on Umm Safa. Four other people were arrested on Friday.
