Barak: Set up task force on settler violence

'Post' learns team set up by Vilna'i will aim to ensure swift processing of cases brought to court.

By YAAKOV KATZ
yitzhar 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
yitzhar 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ordered his deputy, Matan Vilna'i, to establish an inter-agency task force to coordinate efforts to stop the current wave of settler violence, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Vilna'i, defense officials revealed Sunday, was asked by Barak last week to set up the task force, which is to include representatives from the agencies that deal with settler violence in the West Bank, including the Israel Police, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the IDF and the Justice Ministry. "The task force will work to come up with innovative ways to stop the violence in the territories," a senior defense official said. "Vilna'i will bring all of the agencies together to oversee their efforts and ensure that they are coordinating with one another." Nadia Matar of Women in Green (Women for Israel's Tomorrow) said the task force was yet another measure designed to persecute the settlers and the national camp. "At a time when the Arab enemy is raising its head not only in Judea and Samaria but also in Acre, any normal government would have a task force to deal with the real enemy - the Arabs who are eager to destroy the Jewish state," Matar said. According to figures presented to the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee last week, police have opened 407 criminal files against Israelis involved in public disturbances in Judea and Samaria since the beginning of the year. Thirty-six cases were opened against left-wing activists, while the remaining 91% were opened against right-wing activists. There has also been an increase of 74% in the number of indictments served for public disorder offenses - 82 indictments have been served, compared to 47 during the same period last year. The recent spate of violence began on September 10, when settlers damaged Palestinian property in response to the IDF's evacuation of the Yad Yair outpost in Samaria. Two reserve officers sustained moderate wounds in clashes with settlers. On September 13, residents from Yitzhar, south of Nablus, went on a rampage through the nearby village of Asira el-Kibliyeh after nine-year-old Tuvia Shtatman was stabbed by a Palestinian infiltrator in Yitzhar. This past Saturday, violence again broke out near Yitzhar as settlers clashed with Palestinian farmers. Both sides claimed the other attacked first. Two weeks ago, former Kedumim mayor Daniella Weiss was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer, interfering with a police investigation and hindering a police officer in the performance of his duty. She was arrested after officers came to her home while pursuing men they suspected had been involved in setting fire to a Palestinian field near Kedumim in Samaria. Officials said Vilna'i's task force would work to come up with ways to deter settler violence and ensure swift processing of cases brought to court. "There is a dangerous trend taking place in the settlements," another official said. "While there is an increase in the number of arrests, most of the people arrested are then released without even being charged or convicted. This needs to change."