The Media Line: West Bank Settler Violence Prompts IDF Warning, New EU Aid Program 

West Bank Settler Violence Prompts IDF Warning, New EU Aid Program 

By The Media Line Staff 

Israel’s top West Bank commander warned senior officials that attacks by extremist settlers could help ignite a new Palestinian uprising, as the European Union announced Thursday a new aid program for Palestinians harmed by settler violence in the West Bank. 

Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who heads the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command, recently told a closed forum that violence by Jewish extremists was creating a security threat as well as a moral and political one, Haaretz reported. He reportedly said he had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet that Palestinian attacks were currently at a relatively low level, but that conditions could deteriorate quickly. 

“The coffee brewing is a good coffee—the level of terrorism is at its lowest—but there’s a constant simmer, and we don’t know where it will spill over. And when it spills over, it spills quickly,” Bluth was quoted as saying. 

Bluth also reportedly linked settler attacks to later Palestinian violence, saying, “We know today of people [Palestinians] who were harmed in ‘price tag’ attacks and immediately afterward went out to carry out an attack.” 

His comments came as Alexandre Stutzmann, the European Union representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, announced an aid initiative for victims of settler attacks, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official WAFA news agency. Stutzmann described the surge in violence as a “wake-up call” and said the EU was also examining political measures. 

The announcement followed a visit by Stutzmann and foreign diplomats to al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, where Palestinians reported damage from recent settler attacks. 

Israeli and Palestinian rights groups have long documented assaults, arson, vandalism, and intimidation by extremist settlers in the West Bank. Palestinians and human rights groups accuse Israeli authorities of failing to stop such attacks or prosecute perpetrators. Israel says it investigates violence and rejects claims that its forces protect attackers. 

The West Bank has been under Israeli control since the 1967 war. Around 470,000 to 500,000 Israelis live in the territory, which Israel calls Judea and Samaria. Most of the international community considers Israeli towns and villages in the West Bank to be illegal settlements under international law, while Israel disputes that view.