Hundreds of Israeli settlers descended on Sunday night on the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus in the West Bank. They assaulted Palestinian civilians, shot one dead and set dozens of buildings and cars on fire. This rampage occurred in one of the most militarised territories in the world. Yet as far as we were concerned, the Israeli army, the strongest in the Middle East, was missing in action.
Witnessing such a violent rampage, many observers resort to calls for a “return to calm” in Palestine. But such feeble calls are no longer adequate – if they ever were. One cannot ignore the recurrent nature of settlers’ violence and the way it acts as a pillar of Israel’s rule over the Palestinians. The infliction of violence with impunity, the army’s enabling of this violence and the denial of basic rights embody the existing order. Sunday’s rampage is thus a manifestation of the status quo in Palestine, not an exceptional occurrence or momentary disorder.
