Police Commissioner: Israel is perceived as a country of thugs due to crime in the West Bank

Police Commissioner Rav-Nitzav Dani Levy warned in a closed conversation about the damage caused by settler violence in Judea and Samaria. "The Americans are fed up; in the world, we are perceived as thugs," he said. In the same conversation, Rav-Nitzav Levy noted: "There is a handful whose entire purpose is to come and attack Palestinians. This causes us reputational damage." Levy added that as a result of this phenomenon, Israel is perceived globally as a country of "thugs and criminals."

On the sidelines, the Commissioner addressed the move promoted by Defense Minister Israel Katz to transfer responsibility for civil enforcement in Judea and Samaria from the IDF to the police. Levy clarified that from his perspective, the sovereign in the territory is the IDF, and he has instructed senior police officials not to hold meetings with the army regarding the transfer of responsibility at this stage.

Last night, settlers set fire to a mosque and sprayed hate graffiti on its walls during an attack in the village of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus. One message read, "You have been warned," while others were addressed to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Kan 11 journalist Roi Sharon. The suspects fled the area before security forces arrived.

The IDF condemned the incident, stating: "These events harm the residents of the region and security stability, and divert the attention of security forces from counter-terrorism and protection activities."

Mike Huckabee responded to the graffiti against him:

"It is truly sad that someone would take pride in being a terrorist. But a small group that harms the reputation of 99.9% of Israelis who live according to both civil law and the Torah does not represent the Jewish people or the rest of Israel."

According to UN data published in The New York Times, since the October 7 attack, settlers have carried out thousands of attacks in Judea and Samaria. More than 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes due to settler violence since the beginning of the year—a rate double that recorded last year. The number of Palestinians injured in such attacks has risen from an average of one person every three days in 2020 to more than three people per day in 2026.

The newspaper noted that since October 7, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Judea and Samaria, including terrorists, with the vast majority killed by Israeli forces. According to the UN, this figure is similar to the total number of Palestinians killed in the territory between 2005 and 2022. Additionally, since 2023, 67 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.