IDF Paratroopers Commander Faces Right-Wing Online Incitement in West Bank
Paratroopers Brigade commander Col. Roi Zweig faces fierce online attacks by radical right-wing activists following the IDF deployment to the Shilo Valley to prevent nationalist crime.
The commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Colonel Roi Zweig, is facing a wave of severe online attacks by radical right-wing activists in the West Bank. The backlash follows the IDF decision to deploy the Paratroopers Brigade as an operational unit in the Shilo Valley to prevent friction between right-wing activists and the Palestinian population, as well as to thwart terror and nationalist crime.
Right-wing social media channels launched scathing attacks against Colonel Zweig, accusing him of targeting settler youth instead of combating security threats. The posts claimed that his deployment aimed to suppress right-wing activists while ignoring leftist anarchists and foreign activists.
Criticism also referenced Zweig's previous service as the commander of the Samaria Brigade, alleging a history of friction with settler communities. Publications on platforms such as "Hadshot HaGivot" accused him of hypocrisy, claiming his public statements supporting the settlement movement contradict his operational actions on the ground.
Senior IDF officials expressed outrage over the incitement against the brigade commander, stating that authorities must examine whether criminal offenses of incitement against an IDF officer have been committed. The Paratroopers Brigade was redeployed to the Samaria region following severe incidents involving right-wing activists attacking Palestinian residents, which reportedly resulted in the injury of an American photojournalist and an assault on a group of European diplomats.
