It has been dozen days since Ma`arajat residents fled their homes in fear of violent settlers, backed by military and police inaction. The Israeli public remained largely unmoved by the violent incident, and only a similar attack against soldiers and officers in neighboring Kafr Malik made the headlines a day later. Settler violence throughout the occupied West Bank is only intensifying, and it is worth dispelling two falsehoods concerning the violent rampage of settlers in the occupied territories. One – that perpetrators are at the lawless fringes of society, and do not represent all settlers. The second assumption is that security forces' flawed handling is a result of their failure.

The two falsehoods are rooted in the strong and understandable desire of many people to give practical meaning to their hope that “everything will be alright”. Many Israelis hope that the malice that pervades their everyday reality is curable in spite of apparent challenges, as Israeli society is inherently healthy.

If only we win the elections,  many believe,  a "fourth" way to collaborate will emerge if only we take down the lawless, self-serving group in power, and the country will return to its heyday glory. However, if most settlers are violent lawbreakers, and the military is backing this lawlessness, what good will Naftali Bennett do?

Tomer Persico, a respected theologist, wrote on Facebook that "alongside a large public of decent people, a zealous and anarchic generation is evolving in Judea and Samaria." In the debate that ensued, one of the proponents of this artificial distinction wrote: "One must remember that everyone's opinions are not binary. One may support the IDF destroying a village from which terrorists emerged, as a counter-terrorism measure, yet oppose any retributions by individuals as Jewish terrorism." This statement echoes Smotrich's rationale for eradicating Hawara, albeit using military force. This, according to that commentator, proves that the settler public is heterogeneous - some prefer private terror to state terrorism.

In fact, approximately 80% of residents in West Bank ideology-driven settlements voted for Smotrich and Ben Gvir in the last general elections. They also voted for Smotrich's counterparts in the municipal elections. In the wake of every terror incident, most of those settlers take to their cars and carry out a violent rampage in the village where the incident occurred, as well as in nearby villages. Upon returning from their raids, the women organize homecoming receptions for the tired heroes. Pogroms are supported logistically by regional councils, and their leaders call on the army to tighten its grip. Palestinian villages are put under weeks-long closures by military checkpoints on the main roads leading to highways, and by settlers’ makeshift checkpoints on the dirt roads connecting the villages. If any of the rioters are arrested – immense political pressure is applied to release them. Their release is imminent, no matter what they have done, be it murdering, burning, or looting.

This gruesome scene occurs both after and in commemoration of an attack. The raid in Kafr Malik occurred on the second anniversary of the attack at the entrance to the Ali settlement, in which four Israelis were murdered. Kafr Malik is not anywhere near Ali, and the terrorist did not hail from it, but what matters. Arabs are Arabs and Jews are in control. Between one offensive to another, the fire of violence is stoked by the "new settlers" who populate more than a hundred illegal outposts across the West Bank.

Each of these outposts is well maintained by the veteran settlement movement. Temporary structures are built, gradually evolving into permanent ones, a small herd is bought and gradually grows through poaching from Palestinians. Tractors, quads, and off-road vehicles are gifted, a gravel road is paved and maintained, manpower is allocated – some of it is made up of motivated adults. Others are "fringe youth." Born into large, disadvantaged families, they are neglected by local councils' social welfare departments and turn to illegal outpost communities for a sense of belonging. A water line is laid from the nearest settlement, solar panels providing electricity are installed, and security is provided by the security forces. This is how West Bank settlements are formed in 2025.

These outposts’ mission is to clear Area C of Palestinians to obfuscate any chance of a future Palestinian state. This mission has been defined by politicians and the settlement movement leaders. In practice, it is executed with full logistical backing and public support, as previously mentioned. The mission is successful beyond all hope. It has been set in motion for years, but the rise of the far right government and later the smoke screen of Gaza war enabled its acceleration.

While left-wing organizations are busy garnering international sympathy for the two-state idea, the settlers are steadfast in making its implementation impossible. This strategic plan, concocted and executed by the State of Israel, so as not to allow the division of the land between the Jordan and the sea into two states and/or to sabotage other theoretical arrangements, which some are mulling over in European hotels. The "Tipping of the Scales" plan devised by the Minister in the Ministry of Defense is materializing into a reality. Nothing is preventing these moves. International pressure is nonexistent, the media ignores it, even the courts have given up. Opposition to the government is silent. Some opposition members even support the policy. Even worse, "liberal" Israelis who understand the consequences of these actions seem appeased by "liking" posts. The most outstanding among them even share.

After being discharged from the IDF 15 years ago, I began working in the West Bank to defend Palestinians. I knew then I would encounter violent settlers. It was, however, my encounters with soldiers and police there that jolted me out of my dogmatic slumber.

A "policing army" has taken shape in the West Bank over the years, according to Yagil Levy. It has adopted the settlers' ideology and acts in collaboration with them to suppress and humiliate Palestinians, while fostering settlements, all towards a single end goal – to undermine the chance for a Palestinian state.

The reality is indeed more complex – people like Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, the former head of the IDF's Central Command, understood the importance of cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and the cost to security that violence exacts. However he too paid lip service by claiming that "the rioters are a minority" and that "the vast majority of local residents are law-abiding, moral citizens." The few senior officers who still hold antiquated values do not challenge the violence and lawlessness; they are unwilling to pay the price of confronting the political echelon, the settlers, and their subordinates. Exceptions do exist, but they are exceptions.

A majority of the ground forces in the West Bank are militias serving settlers – and backed by the Israel Police, which almost completely and deliberately refrains from fighting Jewish nationalistic crime. It is those officers who grew up in religious Zionist education systems that hold an ideological approach that is consistent with Smotrich's "Tipping of the Scales." Those who do not - fall in line or are cast out of the system. The majority of soldiers in the "policing army" hold nationalistic views with a Kahane-like hue of Jewish supremacy. As Yagil Levy shows – most of them hail from the weaker segments of Israeli society or from religious Zionism and "Hardal." Those who do not – fall in line, or look for their way to a unit that does not serve in the territories. Don't be taken in by sporadic confrontations between settlers, soldiers, or police. Look at the dogs that bite men daily, not the sporadic incidents in which a man bit a dog.

Our approach to settlers and the outdated romanticism that surrounds Israelis' relationship with their 'people's army' need a wake-up call. In many ways, this isn't the army most of us served in, although it too, wasn't without fault. IDF’s ground forces in the West Bank are a different army. A militia.

The time is long overdue for us to look squarely into our own backyard. Against IDF’s actions in Gaza, one can only protest. Ma`arajat, however, is only an hour's drive from Tel Aviv.

# A first version of the article was published here: www.ha-makom.co.il