Israeli minister Orit Strock rails against top brass warning over settler 'terror' ■ PM Netanyahu rejected Strock's comments but ordered probe into security forces' conduct against Israeli settlers
Israeli far-right minister Orit Strock railed against security chiefs’ denouncement of settler violence on Monday, likening the army, police and Shin Bet security service chiefs to the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group. Her comments were later decried by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that “there’s no place for lashing out against the people who lead our struggle against terrorism.”
The security establishment “put out a joint statement on nationalist Jewish terror,” Strock said in a radio interview. “Who are you, the Wagner Group? Who are you to make such a statement under the government’s nose? They will preach to us about morals? I’m against these events, but it’s a disgrace to call this nationalist terror,” Strock concluded, ostensibly linking Israel’s security elite to the Russian mercenary Wagner Group’s attempted armed mutiny this past Saturday.
On Saturday, IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, Shin Bet security service Chief Ronen Bar and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai came out to denounce the spate of recent settler mob attacks on Palestinian villages in the West Bank in a joint statement, claiming they plan on stepping up efforts against them.
“In recent days, violent attacks in Judea and Samaria have been carried out by Israeli citizens against innocent Palestinians,” they said. “These attacks contradict all Jewish values and are nationalist terror in every sense, and we are obligated to stop them.“
They ended their statement calling on “Settlement leaders, educators and public leaders to publicly denounce these acts of violence.”
Strock later apologized in a social media post for using the term, which she said “entered the conversation because of its prevalence in the news cycle.” She did, however, double down on her criticism, saying that Israeli security elite “aren’t supposed to preach morals, but to maintain security.”
Although Strock apologized for her comments, Netanyahu objected to her characterization, and said that “there’s a place in democracy for criticism against anyone, but there’s no place for lashing out against the people who lead our struggle against terrorism.” However, the premier called for an investigation into claims of excessive use of force on Israeli settlers by security forces.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid hit back at Strock, urging Netanyahu to restrain his “irresponsible ministers.” Former defense chief Benny Gantz also responded and called for Netanyahu to fire her. According to Gantz, “every minute she serves as a minister in the government” sends a message that undermines security, encourages “anarchists” and harms the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police.
Strock, from the Religious Zionism party, was named Israel’s first National Missions Minister in December. She is a leading figure in Hebron’s Jewish community and the founding chairwoman of the Human Rights Organization of Judea and Samaria, a controversial settlement group. Her son, Zvi, previously received a 2.5-year sentence for kidnapping and abusing a Palestinian boy.
This isn’t the first time Strock’s comments have made headlines — in a radio interview she publicly criticized U.S. ambassador Tom Nides for commenting on the government’s planned judicial overhaul. Strock also suggested doctors should be allowed to refuse treating LGBTQ people for religious reasons.
Over the past week, mobs of settlers rampaged through five Palestinian towns and torched homes and property, sometimes in the presence of Israeli soldiers who stood by or protected the settlers. On Tuesday, settlers set Palestinian homes and vehicles on fire in the West Bank villages of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and Hawara. On Wednesday, about 200 settlers rampaged through the village of Turmus Ayya and on Thursday in the Palestinian town of Urif. On Saturday afternoon, a large mob of armed settlers, reportedly accompanied by Israeli soldiers, stormed the town of Umm Safa.
The U.S. administration and a number of European states have conveyed their concern and bafflement to Israeli officials in recent days following a series of five unabated mob attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians throughout the West Bank.