Overview

• Dozens of far-right settlers rioted on June 30, setting ablaze a multi-million-dollar IDF security facility in the West Bank in protest of recent arrests.
• The unrest followed the detention of six settlers accused of assaulting a group of IDF reservists near the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik last Friday.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the violence in public statements and convened urgent meetings to coordinate an army investigation.
• The IDF’s initial inquiry found no live fire was used against civilians, but settlers have posted video of shell casings that challenge the army’s account.
• Analysts and opposition figures warn that a climate of impunity for extremist settler violence, bolstered by political support, is emboldening militants to target both Palestinians and soldiers.