A video clip posted on Twitter Oct. 21 shows an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier handing a settler a grenade to use against Palestinians. On Oct. 20, Meretz Knesset member Mossi Raz approached Defense Minister Benny Gantz, demanding that the soldier be court-martialed. “Not only are IDF soldiers failing in their role of stopping settler violence. On too many occasions we see them participating actively in the violence. It’s disgraceful,” Raz said.

According to official security sources, there has been a disturbing rise in violence by settlers throughout the West Bank, with over 100 incidents of nationalist crimes committed by Jews in the last 10 days alone. Most of these occurred in the northern West Bank, especially near the Palestinian village of Huwara, which has become a hot spot for clashes between settlers and Palestinians. All of this is taking place amid a sharp increase in the number of Palestinian attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, using everything from rocks to guns.

As if all this was not a big enough problem, the very soldiers charged with protecting the settlers have become another target of their violence. One of the most serious incidents occurred Oct. 20 near Nablus. Dozens of settlers attacked Israeli troops and threw rocks at Palestinian vehicles. A battalion commander in the Paratrooper Corps and another soldier were injured in the attack. According to the IDF, the force was charged with dispersing dozens of settlers who were rioting at the site. The settlers responded by attacking the soldiers and pepper-sprayed them.

The escalation of security incidents has been gaining momentum as the election campaign heats up in Israel. On Nov. 1, Israel will be holding its fifth election in just three years. The main phenomenon in this round is the meteoric rise of ultranationalist Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir in the polls.