Let Them Unleash Their Holy Fury

Anyone whotravelled, in the late afternoon in the beginning of this week, on the mainroads of the occupied west bank could have concluded that the settlers aregetting organized for a night of pogroms. After all, they do not need tooperate clandestinely, be cautious or  whisperto each other. They have no fear that their intentions will be exposed. Thecall to action was posted in open WhatsApp chats that anyone can access.  By the late afternoon, they already startedgathering in the entrances to the Palestinian villages. In Burin, for example,they blocked Palestinian cars, prevented them from continuing on their way, attackedthe cars with stones, shattered windshields and ordered the passengers toabandon their cars.  

Human rightsactivists alerted the army headquarter. They asked that the army come to bufferand maybe also to  expel the rioters. Intruth, the army does not need alerts from the activists in the field. The armyknew ahead of time and had real time information but had no intention ofgetting involved preemptively or as the events unfolded. The army gets itsorders from above. Like in previous pogroms, it seems that the order from abovewas: “Let them unleash their holy fury”

Once darknessdescended, the ardent activity level escalated significantly: The riotersinvaded Palestinian communities and carried out their specialty – arson. Theyburned cars and houses. With masked faces, they ran around Turmus Aya, Sinjil,Al-Funduq, Ein Siniya (partial list only) armed with flammable materials and thedevotional fire in their eyes.

The high opaquewindows bore the reflections of the fire. The government, subjected to the whims of the settlers’  terror, knows all too well how to ignore a “legitimate”night such as this.  After all, the settlersare enraged because their desire to build settlements on the ruins of Gaza seemedto slip further out of their reach at the current moment. They are, after all,perturbed and their feelings of safety shaken because of the release of terroriststo their homes in the West Bank. We will allow them to cause havoc tonight. Wewill not disturb them. We will not stop the rioting or put out the fires. betterthat way. That will calm down these pumped-up boys, whose desires for revengeand destruction are greater than their desire for life.  Their desires, strong, grand and justifiedare much more rewarding than any joy that may be experienced when seeing ahostage returning to her loving family.  

And what about thePalestinians that were hurt? Those who lost their property?  The people whose lives are endangered any timethey drive on a road controlled by settlers? Ah, Them? Simple, they brought itupon themselves. You see, they already planted an IED that killed a saintlyreservist and badly wounded the battalion commander. There is always justificationto be found for the eruption of the holy rage.