Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribe06:10 PM • August 20 2026 IDTAfter nearly three years of masked Jewish settlers assaulting Palestinians, burning homes and farm fields, and besieging villages, the rising violence in the West Bank has finally captured the world's attention and has even made some Israelis uncomfortable. But the chaos represents only half of a wider effort, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in his second and more important role as the effective minister of the West Bank, to make life miserable for West Bank Palestinians. In the NewsIt's Not Just Violence: Israel Is Crushing the Palestinian Economy TooCarnivorous Insect Beats All in BMC Images ContestCould Brazil's Election Force Jews to Choose Between Religion and the Ballot?A 1,600-year-old Village, a Dazzling Mosaic and a New Story of Ancient JudaismTrump Vows 'Economic D-Day' Against Iran as Tehran Cites 'Economic Terrorism'Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIShe's the Superstar of the Israeli Left, and She Wants PowerIDF Marks Detained Palestinians With Numbers as Northern West Bank Raids ExpandIsrael Police Say Missing Israeli Mother and Daughter Found in ArgentinaReality Check: As the Election Nears, Haaretz Debunks Israeli Politicians' Biggest LiesThe American Jewish Establishment Is Defending an Israel That No Longer ExistsSo Will It Be a Problem if Miriam Adelson Flies to Israel to Vote?