"Judea and Samaria are spiraling out of control": IDF is stretched to the limit, and extremist Jews are marking new targets

The Judea and Samaria sector, which has been the quietest of all sectors over the last few years, continues to burn. According to senior officers, "the sector is spiraling out of control," and security officials are warning the political echelon that it is "on the verge of an explosion" in light of the multitude of nationalist crime incidents by those same extremist rioters.

"There are a lot of settlement tasks that the IDF is carrying out," described a senior source. "Road paving, establishing settlements, and creating spaces for the residents according to the instructions of the political echelon. None of this is being delayed or stopped. The IDF is stretched to the limit in Judea and Samaria, but alongside this, we are forced to deal with these incidents that divert attention and become more and more daring. It seems that no one understands what is really happening here and where it could slide."

The latest escalation began a few days ago. During last week, and after having avoided doing so, the IDF began carrying out evacuations of dozens of outposts that were established illegally in Judea and Samaria. This, following the severe terror attack that occurred in the village of Tel. The sequence of evacuations rose to almost two a night, something that greatly troubled the Jewish extremists who are in the hills. At first, they attacked the Central Command Chief, Avi Bluth, but realized that this was less effective since Bluth enjoys very broad support in the settlement movement due to his understanding of the residents' needs. Now, the extremists have marked the Judea and Samaria Division Commander, Brigadier General Kobi Heller, as the one who is allegedly behind the evacuations.

"These are extremist people, and it doesn't matter who will be the Judea and Samaria Division Commander or the Command Chief, they will attack him," noted a senior source from the farms in Judea and Samaria, adding: "This is the best time for the settlement movement, we see what is happening on the ground, we on the farms feel that there is an answer to the needs and there is someone who listens." A few days ago, a poster was distributed in which General Bluth and Brigadier General Heller are seen saluting in uniform to a person in a keffiyeh under the caption "11 evacuations in one week. Bluth and Heller are the evacuation record holders. Your destroyers and your wasters."

Heller, as sources in the settlement movement say, arranged the space for the quick return of the residents to northern Samaria. At the same time, a source in the settlement movement explained: "In the recent period, there is a decrease in the amount of farm establishment, and it is seen. Even a kind of stagnation. It works according to the trends of these events and all the mess that this creates in the political aspect has an effect. Precisely here it is more at the political levels. On the ground, Heller maintains an open dialogue and pushes for contact with factors in the settlement movement and with farm owners. He supports the contacts of his brigade commanders with farmers. The attacks on him are unclear, but it is familiar."

It is important to note that these events are occurring when Palestinian terrorism is in a downward trend, so that the great attention in Judea and Samaria is now occupied by nationalist crime incidents. One of the claims against the army also focuses on the connection with the Palestinian Authority and the fact that nothing is being done against it. Of course, the great fear is of a scenario of turning the guns in Judea and Samaria. However, one must pay attention to the fact that the government is the directive that guides the IDF on how to act, and now there is no decision to dismantle the Authority or to avoid security coordination with it. Also, the establishment of outposts in Area B creates significant security tension.

The pace of events is increasing and with it the casualties. On Friday, a Palestinian was killed and another was wounded in Sa'ir after a group of hikers in the Gush Etzion area encountered a Palestinian mob that threw stones at them. A security person from one of the nearby settlements jumped to the place and fired into the air, and then towards several others. He was taken for questioning and the police opened an investigation. Later, three Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones. In the police statement, they justified the actions taken by the security person: "According to the suspicion, the three - and others who have not yet been located at this moment - were involved in throwing stones at the hikers last night near the Palestinian village, and by their actions, they actually endangered the lives of the Israelis." The hike of that group was not approved according to the IDF and passed through Area B. Alongside this, a number of Jewish shepherds were also attacked in several cases.

Alongside this, a security source explained that there is activity against the extremists, but not every event is nationalist crime. "A great many of those violent extremists will receive indictments soon, but there is an equation here that needs to be changed," he said. "The army evacuates and there are 'price tag' incidents, one needs to be present inside the terrain cells and villages that have more potential for friction. One must not play into the hands of the extremists."

The dynamics of the evacuations are familiar. There is significant American pressure on Israel on the subject, and it increases as there are more and more incidents of nationalist crime. "Everyone sees the events, we warn that things are not moving to a good place," clarified a source in the security system. The same source added that the various security bodies are unable to channel the work between them and fight the phenomenon. Just this week, the families of the settlement core went up to the Kadim settlement in northern Samaria, which was evacuated as part of the disengagement plan. Meanwhile, it seems that the IDF is sending a sharp and clear message to the leadership that the Judea and Samaria sector is spiraling out of control. The fear is, of course, of the renewed increase in Palestinian terrorism.