Sharp condemnation in the settlement movement of the blockade in Qusra - against Ben Gvir: "The police understand the spirit of the commander"

Beit El Council head, Shai Alon, harshly criticized the blockade imposed by settlers on the Palestinian village of Qusra, saying it causes "irreversible damage" to the State of Israel and the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria. In an interview with ynet studio, he also addressed the unusual statement by the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who called those involved in the events "Jewish terrorists."

"I know Mike Huckabee well. He is the most pro-Israel ambassador we have ever had," Alon said. "If he says these things, one must understand that there is a real problem here." According to him, the responsibility for the phenomenon also lies with the political echelon: "Those who are responsible today for this lost youth are in the areas of Limor Son Har-Melech and Itamar Ben Gvir. They are not pressing the gas hard enough to ensure these terrible and awful scenes do not happen."

When asked about the damage caused to Israel following the events, Alon replied: "Very serious damage to the State of Israel. Irreversible, even." According to him, he had been warning about the phenomenon for years: "The State of Israel is not doing enough to deal with it. It starts with education and welfare, and when it is not addressed, it reaches the places we see today."

Alon refrained from placing the responsibility on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, arguing that the focus of the failure is in enforcement: "It rests with the Israel Police and not the Ministry of Defense. The Judea and Samaria Police understand the spirit of the commander. I have a lot of respect for them, but they are not acting enough on this issue." However, he praised the IDF's activity on the matter: "The General and the Chief of Staff are doing a lot of operations. The heads of the authorities in Judea and Samaria are a united front against these abnormal phenomena. It is a matter of a few hundred lost youth."

Regarding the possibility of returning to the use of administrative orders against Jewish rioters, he said it is a possible tool, but not a sole solution: "Any tool that can help is a good tool, but an administrative order alone does not solve the problem. You saw in the pictures children aged 14 and 15." Later, he also addressed claims about reserve soldiers who participated in prayers with the rioters: "If there is a person who wears a uniform and does such a thing - at that moment he must take off his uniform and be released from the reserves."

At the end of the interview, he also addressed the Trump administration and said that Israel must act firmly against those involved: "I tell the Americans that the State of Israel must act firmly against this shameful phenomenon. The words 'Jewish terror' even give us a discount. These are criminal offenders who vent their anger on an innocent population, and this phenomenon must be uprooted from the world."

Binyamin Council head and Yesha Council chairman, Israel Gantz, said that "the events in Qusra are serious and are not our way. There is no room to decide privately on establishing a hilltop in a house's yard, even when it comes to an illegal house or an attempt to take over the area. There is no justification for violence against uninvolved people or security forces." He claimed that there are those who exploit these events for a campaign against the settlement movement, "but this must not blur the simple fact - what happened in Qusra is not proper and is not acceptable to us." Alongside this, Gantz called on the Israeli government to cancel the Oslo Accords "and allow legitimate and regulated Jewish settlement in all open areas."