Israeli security and military sources warned on Wednesday that the situation in the West Bank resembles a “powder keg” because of settler violence against Palestinians, while occupation officers are reluctant to take action against the perpetrators for fear of harming their military careers.
A senior security source told Haaretz: “The West Bank is a powder keg that could explode at any moment.”
He added that the ongoing riots and violence committed by settlers in the area, not only in the town of Qusra [south of Nablus in the northern West Bank], are putting Israeli army forces under extreme strain, and the army is unable to respond to all the incidents.
He said the “conduct of the senior military leadership on the ground shows a deliberate inability to confront the settlers”.
The newspaper quoted sources in the Central Command as saying there was “a state of paralysis among the leadership, who fear taking any step [against settlers] that could be interpreted as politically motivated”.
