Bad behavior

There's a good article at the New York Times on settlers in Israel not letting Palestinians back into their homes on the West Bank. The far right settlers are supposedly stopping Israeli soldiers from helping the Palestinians return.

The military said in a statement that soldiers had been unable to permanently return the family to their home, but also noted that troops had stopped a more serious incident from taking place. After the family entered the home, the military said, more than 100 “rioters” arrived and “severe violence” started, with rocks thrown at security forces, roads blocked and tires set on fire. The military said that additional personnel had been called in to try to disperse the settlers and that those forces had intervened to prevent the family from being harmed.

Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has soared, according to U.N. data, especially since the start of the Gaza war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. So far in 2026, at least 23 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to clashes with settlers, according to the U.N. humanitarian office.

Netanyahu is continually minimizing settler violence but I think it is perpetuated by a handshake deal and a wink with the Israeli government. And I for one, think that it is disgusting. 

There are some very good comments here but this one caught my eye particularly:

I believe Wally knows exactly what is going on here. And we all know that if the roles were reversed and Palestinians kept Jews from their homes in Israel they would be shot dead on the spot. They wouldn't put up with it for a second.

Israel is losing diaspora jewry on many fronts. This disgusting behavior only amplifies our disgust at the over reaction in Gaza that killed so many innocent people. Lose 1200 and kill 50,000 sounds so biblical. I feel no mandate to regain Judea and Samaria because we lost it two thousand years ago. 

Tel Aviv and Haifa were fine.

Israel's close tryst with Trump will alienate many previous backers of Israel in the United States in ways that also can not be overstated.

You are losing us, Netanyahu. This may work with your supporters in certain parts of Brooklyn but you are alienating huge numbers of previous supporters of Israel who belong to reform and conservative Jews who know exactly what you are doing here.

And there are way more of us than there are of them.