Esther Hurgan was murdered in cold blood when she went for a run through the Reichan Forest, Monday. Later that dark day, 16-year-old Ahuvia Sandak was tragically killed when officers chased youths believed to have thrown stones at Palestinians. Across Judea and Samaria, there were dozens of incidents of Palestinians throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Jews and dozens of attempted murders.
Overall, 2020 has been a fairly calm year. And yet, data on the first half of the year tells a different story. Volunteer organization Rescuers Without Borders has compiled the reports, according to which the territories saw 1,033 incidents of stone-throwing, 284 Molotov cocktails, and 24 explosive devices. Every such incident causes incredible damage to the body, property, and mind. None of these incidents passed without leaving an emotional scar.
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But the media barely reports on any of this, choosing to file these incidents under the category of "dog bites man." Security forces and the police see them as routine events that will just continue to happen. "Judea and Samaria are heating up," they warned this week. And why was that the case? Enter consciousness engineering. "Tensions in Judea and Samaria: 15 incidents of violence against Palestinians in the last two days," a Kan public broadcaster headline read, just one day after Hurgan was killed. With countless serious violent incidents in Judea and Samaria, security forces and the media chose to draw attention to Jewish acts of violence. The attacks on Palestinians are grave and must be stopped, but there are dozens of attacks on Jews every week the media chooses not to report.
It is something of an open secret that the thing that scares security forces the most is not the throwing of stones or Molotov cocktails at Jews, but a vigilante Jewish response. On more than one occasion, I have witnessed how an effective operation is only carried out by security forces that arrive on the scene only after settlers were left without any other choice but to threaten to take the law into their own hands.
To be fair, the security forces' fear is justified. No one wants to see anarchy in the territories, and anyone who would inflict harm on the innocent is repugnant. Yet the truth must not be swept under the rug. When there are dozens of incidents of Jewish acts of violence for the thousands of attacks perpetrated by Arabs, the statistics make clear that there aren't radicals on both sides.
The Jews are not to blame for the situation heating up in Judea and Samaria. The settlers have been dealing with daily terrorism in exemplary silence, without crying out and without taking revenge. They are taking greater care to protect themselves, being more cautious, and relying fully on the security forces. When something happens, they file yet another complaint, yet another compensation claim, and carry on with their lives. If they dare to respond in self-defense, their weapons are confiscated for many months, and investigations are often opened against them, leaving them without any means of defense.
So don't believe the consciousness engineers who claim things are heating up due to Jewish violence. That's a lie. Judea and Samaria are at a boiling point due to hundreds of incidents of attempted murder of Jews whose only crime was driving home.
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