News analysis

Netanyahu’s two faces: Condemning violent Israeli settlers while backing far-right extremists

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

Israeli settlers stand near seized properties belonging to the Palestinian Al-Tubasi family in the West Bank village of Jalud on Aug 25.

Israeli settlers standing near seized properties belonging to the Palestinian Al-Tubasi family in the West Bank village of Jalud on Aug 25.

PHOTO: EPA

  • Netanyahu condemns settler violence publicly but supports far-right extremists who encourage attacks on Palestinians to secure political power.
  • Violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased, with minimal legal consequences and government funding for new settlements on Palestinian land.
  • Opposition leaders criticise the violence but avoid discussing future West Bank governance, allowing extremists to act with impunity ahead of the Oct 27 election.

AI generated

LONDON – “A handful of lawless rioters” is how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the widespread violence inflicted over the weekend by Israeli Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the occupied territories of the West Bank.

Netanyahu claimed that he expects the Israeli army, police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, to arrest these rioters and “bring them to justice”.

See more on