For years, Israeli military and police forces throughout the West Bank have been faced by the widespread phenomenon of disturbances to the law and order and damages to the security and property of both Palestinians and Israelis. For the purpose of protecting the security of Israeli settlers living in the Occupied Territories, the Israeli security forces have developed and utilized many methods and a variety of enforcement mechanisms in order to respond to the different threats that present themselves. These measures include: the wide-scale and continuous presence of security forces to impose order and supervise law enforcement; security measures; legislative amendments granting additional enforcement authority to the security forces; and instructions and training for the security forces personnel in the field.
In contrast, when it comes to protecting the safety of Palestinians who are subjected to attacks by Israeli settlers, the Israeli law enforcement authorities consistently refrain from employing many of the methods and tools at their disposal – methods which they do use in their efforts to protect Israelis. Moreover, in many instances, the only “response” to incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property by the authorities is to employ measures that restrict and harm the Palestinian population itself – the victims of the violence – rather than take any action against the perpetrators. In general, for many years the security forces have preferred to take the “easy road” of imposing severe and prolonged restrictions on Palestinian residents, rather than following the more appropriate (yet more difficult to implement) path of enforcing the law against those who inflict violence on Palestinians. The reason is that the security forces are wary of engaging in any confrontation with the settlers.
A fundamental legal principle is that of equality before the law. The law enforcement policies of the Israeli security forces in the Occupied Territories are marred by discrimination on the basis of national origin and by a blatant violation of the principle of equality.
Resources on Settler Violence:
ACRI Rights Leaflets – Conflicts Arising During the Olive Harvest and Palestinians’ Rights, October 2008
ACRI Appeals against Violations of Palestinians’ Rights in Tel Rumeida, September 2006
ACRI’s Recommendations for Handling Settler Violence, July 2006
Supreme Court Orders Security Forces to Protect Palestinian Farmers, June 2006
