A plan by the commanding general in the West Bank to establish a company made up of Jewish settlers has raised a fierce public debate in Israel, with deep ideological overtones.
Right-wingers have jubilantly welcomed the decision by Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai, who recently took over as commander of the central sector, which includes the West Bank.
Liberals and those on the left decried it and warned that the plan could lead to the “Lebanon-ization of the country.” They worry that some day political militias will be battling it out with firearms in Israel.
The settlers have long demanded the creation of territorial defense units, made up of Israel Defense Force reservists living in the territories, to increase local security.
The former regional commander, Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna, repeatedly turned them down. But Mitzna was transferred to the southern command last summer. His successor, Gen. Mordechai, harbors political views closer to those of the settlers.
Paradoxically, Mitzna’s policies were supported by the same defense establishment that now backs Mordechai.
The Defense Ministry issued a statement Wednesday evening denying that any new policy had been established. Settlers have always been incorporated in the army for local defense and security purposes, the ministry said.
But Mordechai proposes to set up a special settler company to be deployed in the volatile Hebron area, on an “experimental basis.”
CONCERN ABOUT VIGILANTISM
That is like “putting the cat to guard the milk,” commented one of the many irate liberals in and outside the Knesset.
The leftist opposition factions — Mapam, Citizens Rights Movement and the Center-Shinui Movement — have introduced motions for a Knesset debate on the matter.
Shinui leader Amnon Rubinstein said Mordechai’s decision would only aggravate tension between the Israeli authorities and Palestinians.
“This is turning a blind eye to reality. We have many cases of vigilantism by the settlers. We have many cases in which Palestinians were shot, wounded and, unfortunately, killed by settlers,” Rubinstein told Israel Radio on Wednesday.
“To give them this special status only makes things worse,” he said. “If we want to see a general conflagration and sectarian warfare in the West Bank, that’s the way to do it.”
But Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, a Knesset member of the pro-settlement party Tehiya, claimed that settler militias are better qualified than Israel Defense Force reservists to maintain security. Waldman accused some reservists from outside the territories of inciting Arabs to continue the intifada.
“People on the left, people of the Peace Now movement meet with the Arab terrorists and tell them they are absolutely right,” he said.
He insisted that the settlers know the territory, know the Palestinians and would do a better job. They are devoted patriots, idealists and citizens who should serve wherever they are needed, said Waldman.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
