Government arms, army protects: Israeli system accused of fueling occupier violence in West Bank

Former prime ministers, security officials accuse Netanyahu’s government of deliberately enabling occupier attacks Israeli rights group documents 377 violent incidents in 2 weeks; Palestinian commission records 42 joint attacks by army, occupiers As the Israeli government expands access to weapons and eases measures used against extremist occupiers, while soldiers face accusations of protecting attackers and helping them, mounting evidence has fueled accusations of official Israeli complicity in attacks on Palestinians, their land and property in the occupied West Bank. The allegations are not limited to Palestinian documentation. They also include Israeli media and rights reports, government decisions, statements by current politicians and former security officials, UN investigations, and Western sanctions against two ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. They come amid escalating attacks during the olive harvest season, with Israeli rights group Yesh Din documenting 377 incidents of violence involving occupiers and soldiers in two weeks through Oct. 10. Soldiers protecting attackers Israeli media reports have documented cases in which army conduct went beyond failing to stop attacks and included accusations that soldiers helped occupiers and covered up their actions. On Sept. 28, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported widespread attacks it described as “Jewish terrorism,” including damage to Palestinian property in the occupied West Bank. It cited accusations that Israeli soldiers helped occupiers steal an olive harvest in Sinjil, north of Ramallah, and covered up the incident. On Sept. 4, opposition Knesset member Gilad Kariv accused the army of serving groups operating from illegal settlement outposts against Palestinians, saying it had “become routine in the Palestinian territories.” His remarks followed the theft by occupiers of grapes from Palestinian land in Halhul in the southern West Bank. More than 300 Israeli reservists also signed a petition in August, “Reservists’ Letter Against Jewish Terrorism,” addressed to Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The reservists accused army leadership of failing to give them the authority needed to prevent occupier violence, saying they are deployed to deal with what the military calls “friction incidents” without meaningful authorization to stop attacks before they happen. Government expands arms access, eases enforcement Alongside accusations against the army, government ministers have adopted measures critics said enable occupiers, facilitate attacks and encourage impunity. On Jan. 22, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir approved adding 18 illegal settlements to areas whose residents are eligible for gun licenses. Figures Ben-Gvir announced in January showed that more than 240,000 gun licenses had been issued since he expanded the policy in late 2023, compared with about 8,000 annually beforehand. The figure also includes Israelis outside occupied West Bank illegal settlements. In another measure affecting enforcement against occupiers, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Nov. 22, 2024, an end to administrative detention for Jewish occupiers suspected of involvement in attacks against Palestinians, while the measure continued to be used against Palestinians. Katz justified the decision by citing security threats facing settlements, although security agencies had long used administrative detention to hold occupiers suspected of serious attacks without formal charges. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Shin Bet domestic security agency warned the move would undermine efforts to confront occupier violence, while Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed it. Government policies have also extended to plans to annex Palestinian land. On Sept. 3, 2025, Smotrich announced a plan to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank, saying the principle was to obtain “maximum territory and minimum Arabs” to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Western sanctions target 2 ministers Criticism of the policies has also led to punitive measures against senior Israeli officials. On June 10, 2025, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, including asset freezes and travel restrictions, accusing them of inciting extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian rights. France also barred Smotrich from entering the country on June 9, 2026, for supporting the annexation of the West Bank and the expansion of settlements. Former Israeli officials allege government complicity Accusations of official complicity have also been reinforced by former Israeli officials who linked occupier violence to government policy. On June 24, the Guardian newspaper reported on a letter signed by dozens of former officials, including prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak and more than 30 security chiefs. The signatories accused Netanyahu’s government of deliberately enabling occupier attacks, with the army, police and Shin Bet complicit in advancing policies aimed at displacing Palestinians and annexing their land. They cited the involvement of soldiers from regional defense units and settlement security teams in attacks and accused authorities of overlooking other offenses. The signatories demanded accountability for those responsible and threatened to petition the Supreme Court. On Sept. 29, opposition Democrats party leader Yair Golan accused Netanyahu’s government, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir of encouraging extremists and creating a climate of impunity, holding them responsible for bloodshed. A month earlier, Golan described occupier attacks as “Jewish terrorism,” saying every Palestinian village burned and every attack receiving political backing pushed the region toward further escalation. Disputes about occupier violence have also surfaced inside Israeli state institutions. On Oct. 5, Israel’s Channel 13 reported an argument between Settlements Minister Orit Strock and Shin Bet chief David Zini. Strock objected to portraying occupiers as solely responsible for violence in the West Bank, prompting Zini to tell her: “You are disconnected from reality,” while calling on the political leadership to condemn the attacks. UN inquiry links violence to state policies The allegations overlap with findings from UN investigations and Israeli rights groups linking occupier violence to state policies aimed at expanding control over Palestinian land. In a May 8 report, designated A/HRC/62/22, an independent UN commission of inquiry concluded that authorities were directly involved in attacks by occupiers against Palestinians in the West Bank and provided attackers with financial and military support while shielding them from accountability. The commission described “settler violence” as a tool used to advance Israeli state policies aimed at expanding settlements, annexing Palestinian land and displacing its population. Israeli rights group B’Tselem similarly said in a 2021 report titled “Settler Violence = State Violence” that Israel uses attacks by occupiers as a means of taking over Palestinian land while distancing itself from direct responsibility. The organization reinforced its findings in a Sept. 14 report titled “The Removal Project,” based on nearly 2,000 testimonies, documenting cooperation between official institutions and armed settlement groups in displacement, land seizure, movement restrictions and economic pressure on Palestinians. Figures show scale of attacks The scale of the violence has become particularly visible during the olive harvest season. Yesh Din documented 377 violent incidents involving Israeli occupiers and soldiers in two weeks through Oct. 10, affecting 162 Palestinian communities. The incidents included 58 physical assaults on olive farmers, 57 cases in which farmers were prevented from harvesting and 100 incidents of crop theft. The group said soldiers were present in 44 incidents linked to the harvest. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it recorded 219 attacks between Oct. 1 and 12, including 42 carried out jointly by the Israeli army and occupiers and 136 linked to the olive harvest. Harvest-related incidents included 92 attacks on farmers or attempts to prevent them from reaching their land. Of those, occupiers carried out 59, 19 jointly with the army, and 14 alone. The commission also recorded 45 cases of crop theft or tree damage. Occupiers have killed three Palestinians since the beginning of October, it said. The commission said Israeli occupiers carried out 5,561 attacks from the beginning of 2026 through the end of September. Illegal settlements, displacement Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967, while its settlements there are considered illegal under international law. Attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers have intensified since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, including killings, arrests, home demolitions, property burnings, land bulldozing and the displacement of Palestinian communities. Palestinians warn that continued occupier violence, alongside government policies supporting settlement expansion and annexation, is aimed at removing them from their land and undermining the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.