The facts are no longer in dispute.

In parts of the West Bank, so-called Israeli ‘civilians’ have carried out acts of arson, violent assault, intimidation, and actual murder against Palestinians in their own communities. These are not rumors or isolated aberrations. These are documented, repeated, and increasingly normalized.

And the response of the State of Israel has been, at best, inconsistent.

This is where the issue moves beyond politics and into something more fundamental. The phrase “beyond the Green Line” has taken on a second meaning: beyond the effective reach of Israeli law.

No state can or should allow that distinction to stand.

The settlement enterprise depends entirely on the State of Israel and some in the Diaspora—on its military protection, its legal system, and its public resources. That is an undeniable fact. Yet at its fringes, individuals act in direct violation of the very laws that sustain them. They burn property. They attack civilians. They intimidate entire communities. They kill.

Call these acts by their proper name: criminal offenses, terrorism.

And when........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)