‘Price Tag’ Violence

Legitimate protest in Israel is normal, like in any democratic country. But, the recent spike in ‘Price Tag’ violence is of great concern for the Israeli government. How should we interpret this phenomenon?

To be able to understand the seemingly radicalization of the settler youth, we need to go back to the disengagement from Gush Katif (Gaza) in 2005. The coherent leadership, in Gush Katif prevented extreme violence during the withdrawal process in 2005.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of a well-planned post-disengagement strategy people became disillusioned. The people evacuated from Gush Katif had to stay in caravans for 6 years. Many people, and certainly the settlers in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) took note of these developments. Apart from the above, Hamas became the government in Gaza and created it in a launce-pad for the firing of rockets on Israel.

It seems that people in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) areas realized that a future disengagement would take place to establish a Palestinian state. International pressure in this regard will be immense.

As talks of a possible disengagement from areas in the West Bank increases, violent incidents like the arson attack last week will likely increase. It is a signal to the government that this time they will not leave without a fight. The sort of coherent leadership we saw in Gush Katif during the Gaza disengagement is lacking in the West Bank, due to various reasons.

In a comprehensive study, “Between Legitimate Protest and ‘Price Tag’ Violence, Drs Chanan Mozes, Moshe Hellinger and Jonathan Rynhold came to the following conclusion: “It is vitally important to establish a mechanism to find a solution for evacuees in advance. Failure to do so will lead some religious-Zionist settlers to despair and people with nothing to lose will be open to mobilization by the most radical elements.”

May the government of Israel seek Godly wisdom in handling this potentially dangerous situation.