They are silent when the settlers from Yitzhar routinely burn the fields of their Palestinian neighbors and beat up the landowners. They never utter a word when Jewish thugs injure Israeli volunteers who come to the West Bank to accompany Palestinian farmers and shepherds to protect them against settler violence and the theft of their lands, carried out under the auspices of the state and its security forces. Apparently, their moral compass sees a settler who kicks an elderly Palestinian woman who dared harvest her olive trees differently from settlers who throw stones at soldiers. For them, breaking the arm of a Jewish leftist who comes to help an elderly Palestinian woman is not the same as hurting an Israeli soldier sent to protect the Jewish settlers.

On a good day, the beating of an elderly Palestinian woman and of a peace activist are relegated to a short note on page 12 of the daily paper. An Israeli soldier injured by rioters in the settlement of Yitzhar is a whole other story, fodder for top headlines. Politicians on the right and left, including the right-wing apologists for the radical settlers, were quick to condemn the violence. IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi warned, "It is inconceivable that IDF soldiers, who spend their days in defense of the settlers, would be attacked by those protected by them.’’ Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took time out from his busy schedule to announce that he “strengthens the hands of the IDF fighters and commanders who work night and day to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens, without exception.”

Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Nadav Paran, who is in charge of the Yitzhar region, had the most interesting reaction. Following the series of attacks on soldiers in recent days, he announced Oct. 20 that the IDF and other security forces were fully cooperating with the Samaria Regional Council “to prevent such action in the future and ensure the security and routine of the residents.” It's akin to a security guard protecting farmlands and orchards saying that he was cooperating with a company that regularly supplies fuel to arsonists and services to vandals. And no, these perpetrators are not, as the head of the regional council Yossi Dagan claimed, “people from outside the community.”

The Yizthar incident is no exception. A 2018 case study by the anti-occupation organization Yesh Din stated that settler violence serves as “a vehicle for taking over Palestinian land with state and military backing.” The group’s position paper focuses on 40 incidents documented by its people between January 2017 and March 2018, in which settlers and other Israeli civilians from Yitzhar and nearby outposts including Givat Ronen injured and damaged the property of the residents of six neighboring Palestinian villages. The incidents involved severe physical violence, arson, the slaughter of animals and uprooting or chopping down of trees and crops.