Israeli security chief warns Jewish terrorism in West Bank causes 'indescribable damage' to national security and strains alliances

The State of Israel is currently focused on dismantling the Iranian-backed Islamist terrorist organization Hamas in the south and protecting itself against Hezbollah forces in the north.

The head of Israel’s domestic security agency (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, issued a warning to the Israeli government that Jewish terrorism is on the rise and threatens Israel’s security.

“I’m writing you this letter in pain, great fear, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as a member of a security force,” Bar wrote in his letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several other ministers. A copy of the letter was also sent to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

In his letter, Bar argued that the violence carried out by extremist Jewish settlers, along with the behavior of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, have resulted in “indescribable damage” to the Jewish state.

During a recent visit to the Temple Mount, Ben Gvir and his supporters demanded freedom for Jewish prayer and a reversal of the status quo policy that currently only permits Muslim prayer at the contested sacred site.

Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount during Tisha B'Av earlier this month was strongly condemned by Arab and Western governments. Netanyahu quickly rebuked the move and stressed that the status quo was still in place on the Temple Mount.

"There is no private policy of any minister on the Temple Mount – not the minister of National Security or any other minister. This morning's incident on the Temple Mount is a deviation from the status quo. The policy has not changed – it has been and will remain,” Netanyahu stated.

Bar refrained from sending a copy to Ben Gvir after the controversial minister had reportedly demanded to have him fired.

“The ‘hilltop youth’ phenomenon long ago became a hotbed of violence against Palestinians,” Bar warned, referring to young radical Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, who harass and engage in violent confrontations with local Palestinian residents. The security chief further claimed that extremist Jewish settlers were encouraged by a “secret sense of backing” from the local police and argued that Israeli authorities ignore this phenomenon.

“The loss of fear of administrative detention due to the conditions they get in prison and the money given to them upon their release by MKs, together with legitimization and praise, alongside delegitimization of security forces,” ostensibly reinforces the problem, Bar argued in his letter.

“These are our sons, we are responsible for their education, for legitimization or a lack thereof, for setting the path and setting boundaries,” he added.

The security chief argued that radicalized Jewish youth who perpetrate violence against Palestinian residents in Judea and Samaria undermine Israel’s security, its alliances and international standing among the family of nations.

“The damage to the State of Israel, especially now and to the vast majority of the settlers, is indescribable: global delegitimization, even among our greatest allies; spreading thin the IDF’s personnel which is already struggling to keep up with all its missions and which wasn’t intended to deal with this; vengeful attacks that are sparking another front in the multi-front war we are in; putting more players into the cycle of terror; a slippery slope to the feeling of a lack of governance; another obstacle to creating local alliances that we need against the Shiite axis; and above all, a massive stain on Judaism and us all,” Bar warned.

In recent months, the Biden administration has stepped up its policy of sanctions against both radicalized residents and, at times, entire Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Other Western nations have followed suit, enforcing sanctions against Jews identified as extremists.