Terrorism is anything that invokes Palestinian national identity or criticism towards the occupation. However, what can be seen as the opening stage of a Kristallnacht-esque repeat against Palestinians — Muslim and Arab, specifically — is nothing too worrisome.

Illegal Israeli settlers, particularly those who attack Palestinians, vandalize their property, and even sabotage Israeli military bases, aren’t terrorists. They aren’t even militants. They are, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just a small unrepresentative group of right-wing activists who happen to be a little overzealous in their convictions.

The last few days have seen a tremendous surge of violence in the West Bank. But it’s likely this information never received the attention it deserved since those committing the violence were, in fact, Israeli settlers. On Tuesday, dozens of settlers ambushed an Israeli military base and attacked military officials and their property as a sign of defiance against the measures taken to police them. The next day, settlers hurled rocks at Palestinians traveling through the Tapuach and Rechalim Junction. Another group of settlers torched three Palestinian-owned vehicles — two trucks and one car — just outside of Nablus. Meanwhile, arsonists set fire to a historical mosque in central Jerusalem after vandalizing it with anti-Islam graffiti. To top this off, settlers clashed with police after authorities attempted to arrest suspects in connection with the previous round of violence.

Israel was quick to identify these attacks as part of the growing “Price Tag” movement, but Netanyahu’s administration was split over how to label the settlers behind the destruction. Before anyone else could give it much thought, Netanyahu rejected the idea of labeling them terrorists and instead opted to refer to them as extremist right-wing activists. His logic: they are a small group of individuals whose actions aren’t necessarily mirrored by other settlers. [Read more...]