Amit Segal, one of the most influential journalists in Israel, posted an article on his website titled “The Settler Violence Scam,” exposing the myth that Jews living in Judea and Samaria perpetrate violence against Arabs.
“On the face of it, settler violence seems to be an out-of-control phenomenon in Judea and Samaria,” Segal wrote. “But once you break down the numbers, it turns out there’s not much violence—and not many settlers.”
The subject has recently become contentious after an arson attack on the security installation and a riot at the IDF base. Security services responded by evacuating and demolishing five illegal Jewish outposts on Monday, including the Har Hatzor outpost, which was the scene of severe settler violence against IDF personnel on Friday night.
“As serious as overnight’s incident was, it’s important to view it in context,” Segal tweeted. “Settler violence is nowhere near as widespread as many believe, but there’s a campaign to paint it as a systemic problem.”
Segal cited a study done by Dr. Michael Wolfowicz, a criminology researcher from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who researched data brought by a United Nations report on “Settler Violence”.
“On the face of it, it’s horrifying,” Segal wrote. “Between 2016 and 2022, there were no fewer than 5,656 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians.”
Segal examined the situation more closely, revealing that some incidents of “Settler violence” did not meet the basic criterion.
“But diving into the details reveals that 1,600 of those happened in Jerusalem, almost all of which were instances of Jewish entry to the Temple Mount or police clashes with Muslims rioting there.”
Jerusalem is not a “settlement,” nor is it illegal for Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount.
“After further filtering, there are another 2,500 events that describe property damage or physical assault, Segal continued. “But these include, for example, a terrorist attack carried out by a Palestinian that ended with the terrorist being killed. On April 8, 2018, Muhammad Abd al-Karim Marshoud attempted to stab Israeli civilians in Ma’ale Adumim. He was injured and died the next day. Astonishingly, in the case of Marshoud, the UN recorded two incidents of violence: On April 8, a Palestinian was shot; on April 9, the Palestinian died.
“There’s more. On July 26, 2018, 30-year-old Yotam Ovadia was stabbed to death by a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist. Here too, according to the UN, the neutralization of the terrorist by Yotam is recorded as settler violence. The same applies to a stabbing attack in the Hebron Hills; another one in Yitzhar; injuries to Arab rioters from Israeli security forces’ gunfire at Joseph’s Tomb; and entering the Tomb of Joshua.
“Even traffic accidents in which settlers hit Palestinians were classified as violence.”
“In the end, we’re left with about twenty violent incidents per month, most of them mutual, and some reported only by Palestinians, with no verification. Even if all are true, here’s the proper comparison: according to the IDF, between 2019 and 2022 alone, there were 25,257 Palestinian attacks on settlers—a rate of 500 a year. Last year, that number jumped to 763.”
Segal came to a disturbing conclusion.
“The inflation of settler violence from a limited phenomenon to absurd proportions is meant to soothe the world’s conscience by creating a strange kind of symmetry for the support it gives Israel in its war against the murderous Hamas. In Israel, the campaign serves the purpose of expelling settlers and establishing a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.”
Segal is not alone in his conclusions. Last month, the Regavim Movement published a report on “settler violence,” titled “False Flags and Real Agendas.” The report analyzes the United Nations database, which purports to document all violent incidents in Judea and Samaria and serves as a major source of information for foreign governments and media. Regavim documents the carefully-constructed web of lies spun by a network of anti-Israel organizations both in Israel and abroad. Regavim’s report documents the use of false accusations and falsified testimonies as a strategic weapon against Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the IDF, and the State of Israel as a whole.
Regavim’s analysis reveals that more than 98% of the incidents classified as “settler violence” were, in reality, clashes between Arabs and IDF forces in which no Israeli civilians were involved. The report also proves that many of the incident reports of “settler violence” actually were incidents in which Jewish civilians acted in self-defense. Other reports involved Arab terrorists killed or wounded while carrying out attacks against Jews; legal infrastructure projects carried out by the State of Israel in Area C are also listed as “settler violence,” as are lawful, peaceful, supervised visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, visits to historic sites by hikers and tourists, and other normative, non-violent behaviors.
