Israel's Shin Bet chief demands more condemnation for Jewish violence, could reinstate administrative detentions

Amid the ongoing high level of violence by Jewish radicals against Palestinian civilians in Judea and Samaria, the head of the agency tasked with dealing with the phenomenon urged settlement leaders and politicians to condemn the phenomenon more loudly, while reportedly weighing the return of harsh legal measures against violent radicals.

On Monday, David Zini, the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, clashed with Settlement Minister Orit Strock during a cabinet meeting amid a discussion about recent violent incidents, according to Channel 12 News.

According to Kan News, Zini warned that he would demand the reinstatement of administrative detention against Jews if he is unable to deal with the riots through other means. Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the cessation of the controversial legal measure against Jews, but not against Palestinian terror suspects, around two years ago.

Channel 12 cited a heated exchange of words between Zini and Strock, triggered by her charge that the Shin Bet overly focuses on Jewish violence while ignoring the constant Palestinian terror.

The cabinet meeting came after two terror attacks in quick succession on Monday.

“You present it as if the Arabs are all sweetness and honey, and only the settlers are the problematic ones. Palestinians attack shepherds, injure them, and put their lives at risk. Highlight these attacks as well, deal with them, and talk about them,” Strock reportedly said to Zini.

“The Palestinians are not burning Jewish homes here,” replied Zini, in a reference to last week’s riot in which a mob of around 100 radical settler activists clashed with IDF and police forces as they attempted to escort Palestinian families back to their homes outside the town of Jalud, which had been taken over by settler activists. In the process, the activists torched homes and cars.

Zini, who is religiously observant and grew up in the national-religious education system that is the backbone of the settlement movement, added: “You are disconnected [from reality]. We need to see condemnations and denunciations from the entire leadership. This harms the settlement enterprise and harms security.”

“I don’t understand from whom else he wants a condemnation. All the settlement leadership opposes and condemns this kind of violence. All the heads of the councils and the rabbis have issued calls against it. I am also going to the farms and sitting with the youth to explain it to them,” Strock hit back.

Channel 13 News reported in August that Zini had rejected calls from within his agency to resume administrative detentions for Jews. However, the situation in Judea and Samaria has remained highly volatile over the summer, triggering harsh condemnations even from vocal supporters of the settlement movement, like U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

Many of the recent incidents have involved significant violence by radicals against Israeli security forces. During last week's riot, three border police officers were lightly wounded.

On Tuesday, settler activists said that Border Police forces and Civil Administration personnel were evacuating two more illegal settlement outposts, alleging that the security forces were using “unprecedented violence,” including pepper spray and threatening to use taser guns.

The Honenu legal aid organization said that five people were arrested during the evacuation of the Ora Yisrael outpost, and several more during the evacuation of Netzah Shmuel.

On Monday, a car with three Palestinian men accelerated toward troops near the town of Bani Naim, causing the soldiers to open fire. One of the men was killed and two others were wounded.

In another incident that same day, a Palestinian man with a knife set fire to a car of a resident of an illegal Israeli farming outpost while threatening the residents. One of them rammed the Palestinian with a car, “neutralizing” the threat, according to the IDF. The suspect’s condition was unclear. A second Palestinian suspect in the incident was captured later by IDF troops.

On Sunday, IDF commandos caught two arms dealers in the city of Nablus “who trafficked weapons intended to harm Israeli civilians and security forces,” the IDF said.

Over the past few days, Palestinians reported a significant uptick in alleged attacks by settlers, coinciding with the yearly olive harvest.

In one of the incidents, the IDF said Saturday that it opened an investigation into an alleged attack in the village of Osarin, where the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it evacuated a 50-year-old man to a hospital after he was beaten by settlers.

The town is located in Area B per the Oslo Accords, meaning the Palestinian Authority exercises civilian control while the IDF controls security matters. The Israeli military said it dispatched troops after “footage and reports of Palestinians and property being attacked by Israeli rioters in the area.”

It noted that troops found property damage on the scene and began a search for the Jewish suspects “who had fled before the troops reached the scene.”