Overnight on Monday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian towns again, torching cars and spraying graffiti in the villages of Talfit and Jalud.
One piece of graffiti read “Avi, go home”, probably referring to Maj Gen Avi Bluth, a staunchly pro-settlement Israeli military officer currently in charge of the occupied West Bank.
That settlers are attacking Maj Gen Bluth, who graduated from an ultranationalist military academy in a settlement, is a sign of extreme tendencies. Maj Gen Bluth is no moderate, and has said he “appreciates the work” of the most extreme outposts – which are illegal even under Israeli law.
Those who live in outposts account for much of the surge in settler violence against Palestinians.
In remarks leaked to Haaretz in May, Maj Gen Bluth was reported to have said: “'If someone comes to kill you, kill them first' is the norm in the Middle East, so we’re killing like we haven’t killed since 1967.”
And yet, despite widespread praise and support for Maj Gen Bluth among Israel’s pro-settlement lobby, Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday made the shock announcement on live TV that he would replace the officer for taking the “wrong step” by appealing against the release of violent settler Tal Yinon Dardik.
The case of Mr Dardik, who is accused by Palestinians of severe abuse, now appears to be uniting the most radical fringes of Israel’s settler movement with a senior government minister.
Mr Dardik has been held in administrative detention since July, a practice that allows Israeli authorities to detain someone without trial on the basis that they might be about to commit a crime.
His outpost is in Area B of the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to have civil control. Most settlements are in Area C, controlled by the Israeli military.
After a settler attack in March, residents of the Palestinian village of Khirbet Humsa accused Mr Dardik of severe abuse, beatings and threats to kill and rape. He says he did not take part in that attack.
Mr Dardik, who also says he is on hunger strike, was visited in detention by Mr Katz at the end of July. It is widely considered out of the ordinary for a defence minister to visit someone who is accused of such crimes.
The suspect was initially offered house arrest, but he refused. During his visit, Mr Katz is reported to have offered him the option of staying at a different house. Mr Dardik reportedly insists on returning to his outpost in Area B.
The army quickly rejected Mr Katz’s plan to dismiss Maj Gen Bluth. There was widespread criticism of Mr Katz, including from prominent settlers. Mr Katz later denied that he dismissed Maj Gen Bluth during the broadcast.
The scandal shows the depth of the ties between Israel’s government, the first in 50 years to serve a full term, and nationalist factions seen as extreme even by other right-wing elements.
Mr Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, despite its current far-right positions, was historically not closely connected to the ultranationalist and highly religious factions of the settler movement.
These elements were typically represented by parties including the Religious Zionists, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Otzma Yehudit, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
But Mr Netanyahu’s coalition includes several outspoken defenders of detained settlers. Among them is Knesset deputy speaker Lior Son Har-Melech, who on Monday said Maj Gen Bluth had “failed in his role”.
“Instead of focusing all his forces on the war against terrorism, he chose to turn the hilltop residents and pioneers into the enemy. Under his command, settlers were persecuted time and again, while Arab terrorism grew stronger,” Mr Har-Melech added.
Thirteen ministers and politicians called for Mr Dardik’s release in July. But Mr Katz’s efforts to secure his freedom are the most striking.
