The commander of the Judea and Samaria District Police Department, Deputy Commissioner Uzi Levy, said recently in private conversations that Public Security Minister Omer Barlev is not prioritizing settler violence against Palestinians, and that as a result, his police department was not investing additional manpower and resources to fighting the phenomenon – sources who participated in the closed-door conversations told Israel Hayom on Wednesday.
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In the discussions, which were also attended by senior IDF officers and defense officials, Levy said he could not allocate manpower to the task of nationalistic crime.
According to the sources privy to the discussions, Levy also said the objectives of the Judea and Samaria District Police Department, as approved by Barlev, don't include nationalistic crime. The department, he said, wasn't being judged on its handling of these crimes, rather its success in other areas, such as theft and road safety.
"IDF GOC Central Command [Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai] and Chief of Staff [Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi] don't have the authority to prioritize objectives to the police," said a defense official. "So this creates a big problem. The defense establishment is told it is responsible for handling nationalistic crime, but it doesn't have the authority to increase the number of police officers to contend with the problem."
The implications behind Levy's remarks are far graver in light of figures provided by the IDF's Operations Directorate, obtained by Israel Hayom, which indicate a significant rise in nationalistic crime committed in Judea and Samaria over the past year. The figures also show that throughout 2019, 352 cases of nationalistic crime were recorded in Judea and Samaria. A similar number, 353, was recorded in 2020. In 2021, however, that number spiked to 563 recorded criminal incidents, which included the destruction of agricultural equipment, assault against IDF security forces, and clashes with Palestinians.
The Israel Police said in response that it "takes a harsh view of nationalistic crime, which is highly prioritized and is being handled … through cooperation with the IDF, Shin Bet, and civilian bodies."
A spokesperson for Barlev, who oversees the Israel Police, said: "The public security minister said handling the crime and violence in the Arab street was his top priority. This doesn't mean that along the way the police can stop investigating criminal activity in Gush Dan, car accidents in the Arava, or, regarding the case in question, fighting organized terror perpetrated by extremist settlers in the Judea and Samaria region."
Last week, Barlev delivered a written letter to Defense Minister Benny Gantz calling for greater army involvement in combating settler violence against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.
Barlev's letter was reportedly in response to comments by Kochavi that soldiers stationed in Judea and Samaria were not required to intervene to stop attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians.
Barlev asked Gantz to make it clear to Kochavi and other military officials that the attorney-general ruled that soldiers can and should arrest Israelis suspected of attacks in Judea and Samaria.
In December, Barlev faced backlash from right-wing lawmakers after discussing settler violence against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.
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Barlev told the senior American diplomat that Israel was working to tackle the phenomenon and was taking steps to bolster police presence in the area. He also added that efforts were directed to provide clearer instructions to Israeli troops on how to deal with attacks by Jews on Palestinians.
In response, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked took to Twitter: "You are confused. The settlers are the salt of the earth. The violence that is shocking is the dozens of cases of stone-throwing and beatings of the Jews that happen daily, and all this with the encouragement and support of the Palestinian Authority. I suggest that you talk about this violence with Madam Nuland."
Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana echoed Shaked's criticism and said settlers were "not violent, but pioneers. It is sad to see a security man rich in experience and years, get such a false and distorted narrative."
Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich joined the storm, calling Barlev "a bastard."
