This may be only the start

This week's clashes between extremists in Yitzhar and security forces came as little surprise, as recent months have seen settler violence on a weekly -- sometimes daily -- basis. The majority of these skirmishes usually escape media attention, unless Palestinians are physically harmed, Muslim holy sites are vandalized, or any harm comes to Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

But something seems to have changes this week. What vexed military officials was the fact that this week, it was reservists -- people who were called away from their homes, work and families to protect the residents of Yitzhar -- who found themselves in the eye of the storm, fending off radical settlers who slashed their tires and tore down the very post the soldiers were manning in the settlement's defense.

But the fact that the settlers had turned against reservists is just the symptom of a problem whose solution in nowhere in sight. This has become a proverbial ping-pong game, where settlers lash out against security forces, the military targets the settlers' underbelly and razes buildings in response, the settlers react by vandalizing military property, and so on and so forth.

The events that led to Tuesday's incident began several weeks ago, when settlers slashed the tires of Samaria Brigade Commander Col. Yoav Yarom's car, and stoned the car of a lieutenant colonel with the Civil Administration. In response, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon ordered the razing of two structures in Yitzhar, to which the settlers responded by slashing Yarom's tires again, and later vandalizing vehicles used by the reservists.

For many defense officials, that was the last straw, as it disproved the theory that is was Yarom, personally, who had incurred the settlers' wrath. Ya'alon decided that he was not going to allow the situation to continue and ordered the razing four buildings and the cordoning off of a fifth one. It was during this operation that the settlers stormed and destroyed the reservists' post.

The settlers were livid at what they called the IDF's "vindictiveness," but truth be told, the structures in question were illegally built and had already been earmarked for demolition. However, it is likely that sans the events of the last week, Ya'alon would not have been so quick to authorize the buildings' demolition, and he must have realized that the move would irk the radical settlers.

While criticism has been leveled at the reservists for "just standing there" while Jewish outlaws wreaked havoc on their post, the IDF has already noted that the initial inquiry into their conduct had fund their actions were "reasonable" and that they did the right thing by not physically engaging dozens of settlers. "It may have looked bad, but in this case it's best to be smart, not right," an IDF official said.

This incident, however, pointed to a larger problem, namely the authorities' helplessness against extreme right-wing activists. In theory, the military has control on the ground is therefore responsible for maintaining law and order in the area. But reality, as one IDF official said, does not boil down to a legal definition, and the issues arising from extreme settlers' behavior should be dealt with by the police, the courts and the Shin Bet security agency.

A military official warned this week that there is a concrete possibility that should the settlers deliberately target Palestinians, it could lead to a full-blown escalation. The solution, it seems, must first come in the form of outright censure by the heads of the settlement movement and its rabbis of what the defense minister has called "acts of terror."

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