Afrasianet - The editorial in Haaretz was sharply tone about the bitter reality of Palestinians in the West Bank, starting from the burning of a Bedouin community in the village of Mikhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, as a stark example of an escalating wave of organized settler violence, which it unequivocally describes as "Jewish terrorism."
Just four minutes, that's all it took for a group of about 20 attackers to move between buildings, systematically set them on fire, try to trap a couple inside their burning house, and then beat them when they managed to escape.
"What happened in Mikhmas is no exception. Settlers stormed this Bedouin community three times at night and set fires. The attack on Mikhmas is part of an ongoing wave of Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, characterized by a dangerous mix of blatant and unbridled violence, public acknowledgement and even bragging about responsibility, and an almost complete absence of law enforcement."
The "terrorist cocktail" practiced by the Hilltop Youth Group, an extremist Zionist settler group, includes burning houses, firing live ammunition, committing nightly massacres, and physically harming Palestinians and Israeli activists.
The editorial board of Haaretz is highly critical of the position of the far-right Israeli government, which already denies the existence of "Jewish terrorism," arguing that this denial provides political cover for impunity.
She points to the blatant paradox that settlers document their attacks themselves and post them on social media, while this evidence is not used to prosecute them.
"Today's terrorists have Instagram accounts. Groups such as Ansh and Akhbar al-Hillal publish videos, festive messages, and songs glorifying burning, slaughter, and the like. The villages adjacent to the violent outposts, led by Kol Mafasir, are at the top of the lists of the struggle against the Arab enemy, receiving birthday greetings and enthusiastic coverage."
How can Jewish terrorism be fought if there is a consensus within the "far-right" government that there is no such thing as "Jewish terrorism"? This is the reporter's reporting question.
Haaretz holds the army, police and Shin Bet directly responsible for what happened in the village of Michmas. She says that the security establishment has "no excuse" because it "knows very well which outposts are the most violent and which are bastions of Jewish terrorism. It knows who inhabits it, and which groups celebrate its terrorist activities," she said, adding that the arrest of those involved is possible if there is the will.
The newspaper concludes that what is happening is not isolated riots carried out by a "gang of children" or "reckless youths", but "organised violence" practiced openly with the full knowledge that they will not be punished.
"Four minutes is all it takes to destroy the entire fabric of life in the occupied territories. But the lives of Palestinians in these territories simply mean nothing to Israelis."
Source: Haaretz
