Settler Leader Condemns Violent Fringe Undermining West Bank Settlement Growth

Adi Mintz, a prominent supporter of the West Bank settlement expansion, praises the ongoing settlement revolution under the leadership of Religious Zionist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Strook, highlighting the establishment of 104 new settlements and recognition of 160 agricultural farms during the current government term. These farms, covering hundreds of thousands of dunams of state land, play a crucial role in countering illegal Palestinian construction under the 2009 Fayyad plan and are supported by the Israeli military, including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who urged the creation of more such farms.

Mintz emphasizes the importance of coordinated settlement expansion in partnership with the IDF, rejecting acts of vandalism and provocations that harm the settlement enterprise. He expresses deep frustration with a violent minority among settlers who engage in confrontations with soldiers and illegal actions near Palestinian villages, such as the recent provocative settlement near the village of Qawzah, which led to unnecessary clashes and fuels negative international propaganda about settler violence.

He also criticizes some Knesset members from Likud and Otzma Yehudit who have attacked IDF Central Command Chief Avi Blot, accusing him of persecuting settlers, which Mintz calls a personal defamation of a key military leader committed to settlement security. Mintz warns that such rhetoric and violent acts damage the legitimacy and development of the settlement project, which enjoys unprecedented state support.

Mintz calls on settlement leaders, rabbis, and public figures to clearly condemn these violent actions, stressing that the true settlement revolution is based on cooperation with the security forces and lawful expansion. He rejects "price tag" attacks, vandalism, and illegal behavior, urging unity to ensure the continued growth and rooting of the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.