The most senior Israel Defense Forces officer in the West Bank warned during a closed-door security assessment on Monday that mounting settler violence could ignite a broader escalation in the territory, Israeli television reported.

“There has been a significant decline in the scale of [Palestinian] terrorism over the past two years, but there is one match that could ignite everything in an instant – nationalist crime,” Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth was quoted by Channel 12 news as telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

“The IDF’s attention is constantly being diverted to such incidents instead of thwarting Palestinian terrorism,” he reportedly added.

According to the report, Netanyahu then asked IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir what the military would do if the West Bank erupted and what plan it had in place.

“We did not come prepared to present that at this meeting,” Zamir reportedly replied.

Defense officials cited by the TV network stressed the IDF does have a contingency plan, but said the meeting was convened at short notice and was expected to focus specifically on settler violence, leaving Zamir without the asked-for presentation and details on........

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