Senior settler leaders on Thursday publicly denounced the violence surrounding the Palestinian village of Kusra, with the chairman of the Yesha Council declaring that the events were “not our way” and the head of the Beit El Council warning they were causing “irreversible damage” to Israel and the settlement movement.
Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, said there was no justification for violence against uninvolved Palestinians or Israeli security forces.
“The events in Kusra are serious and are not our way,” Ganz said.
“There is no place for privately deciding to establish a hilltop outpost in the yard of a house, even when it is an illegal house or there is an attempt to take control of the area,” he said. “There is absolutely no justification for violence against uninvolved people or against the security forces.”
Ganz’s condemnation was joined by Beit El Council head Shai Alon, who gave an unusually blunt assessment of the events in an interview with Ynet on Thursday.
Alon said the violence was causing “irreversible damage” to Israel and to the settlement movement and described those responsible for attacks on innocent Palestinians as criminals.
“These are criminal offenders who take out their rage on an innocent population,” Alon said, adding that the phenomenon had to be eradicated.
Alon said he had warned for years about what he described as a group of “lost youth” in the West Bank and accused the state of failing to deal adequately with the problem before it developed into violence.
“The State of Israel is not doing enough to deal with this phenomenon,” he told Ynet. “It begins with education and welfare, and when it is not dealt with, it reaches the places we are seeing today.”
Alon criticizes Ben-Gvir, Son Har-Melech
Alon also directed criticism at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, saying the young extremists involved in such incidents were politically closer to them.
He argued that greater pressure should have been applied to prevent what he described as the “terrible and horrific scenes” being seen in the West Bank.
Alon also criticized the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District, saying that while he respected its officers, law enforcement had not done enough to address the phenomenon. He backed the IDF’s handling of the latest events.
He said West Bank municipal leaders were united in opposing the violence, describing those involved as a relatively small group that did not represent the broader settlement movement.
Alon added that reservists who participate in such incidents while wearing IDF uniforms should immediately remove their uniforms and be released from reserve duty.
The condemnations came after several days of tensions in the Kusra and nearby Jalud areas of the northern West Bank.
The IDF said Israeli civilians had entered Palestinian homes and land in the area earlier this week, describing the activity as “illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable.” The area was subsequently declared a closed military zone.
Dozens of settler extremists clashed with IDF forces on Wednesday after security forces evacuated an outpost established near Kusra. Footage seen by The Jerusalem Post showed extremists dismantling fences, blocking roads, and surrounding the area.
Security forces demolished two unauthorized outposts near Kusra and Jalud overnight Wednesday, according to the IDF, which said one Israeli was detained. Golani Brigade Battalion 51 was also deployed to the area to carry out patrols and security missions.
Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth visited the area and met with a Palestinian family living there, the IDF said.
Commanders expressed concern over the conduct of Israeli civilians toward the family and ordered measures to restore order.
Ganz: Critics exploiting events against settlements
Ganz said the violence should be condemned regardless of what he described as attempts by opponents of the settlement movement to exploit the events politically.
“There is no doubt that there are those who are exploiting these events for a campaign against the settlement movement, but that must not obscure the simple fact: What happened in Kusra is improper and unacceptable to us,” he said.
Ganz said the Yesha leadership would continue working to expand Jewish settlement through organized and authorized channels.
“We are leading and will continue to lead settlement in Binyamin, Judea and Samaria with determination and responsibility, in an organized and proper manner,” he said.
At the same time, he called on the government to repeal the Oslo Accords and permit regulated Jewish settlement throughout open areas of the West Bank.
“I call on the Israeli government to cancel the Oslo Accords and allow legitimate and regulated Jewish settlement throughout all the open areas,” Ganz said.
The statements from Ganz and Alon placed two veteran settlement officials publicly against those responsible for the violence while rejecting attempts to portray the perpetrators as representative of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in West Bank settlements.
