Tempers flare in Israel amidst rising extremism

Hillel and Yagel Yaniv were two brothers from Har Bracha. On Sunday afternoon, they were in their car going somewhere, when they were ambushed by a terrorist from nearby Huwara, who shot and killed them. Yagel would have turned 20 in two weeks.

Yaakov (6) and Menachem (8) stood with their father, patiently waiting for a bus in the suburb of Ramot, Jerusalem, when a terrorist rammed his car into the busy bus stop.

Two sets of brothers mercilessly killed. Two families with massive, gaping holes that can never be repaired. Two families that will go through the rituals of funerals, then shivot, where politicians will promise all kinds of things.

They will then get up and try to pick up the pieces of their ravaged lives. They will join other Israeli families, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, who have all had family members killed over the past year. Meanwhile, after the death of their loved ones, across Gaza and the West Bank, cries of jubilation could be heard as sweets and delicacies were handed out in celebration.

Following this, in horrific scenes that sent shock waves through Israel, settlers took justice into their own hands and embarked on riots, burning Palestinian property and cars.

Border Police, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, Fire and Rescue Services, and Israel Police arrived at the scene to try to restore order, evacuating as many Palestinians as they could. Reporters on the scene said a Jewish gunman dressed in black clothes and a military vest and helmet fired and threw stun grenades at them as they were covering the violence in Huwara.

I’m a reporter. My job is to try and report the news in as neutral and impassive a manner as I can. However, I’m angry. I’m angry that I’m reporting on an ever-growing list of victims of terror. I’m angry that the cycle of violence is getting worse, and that extremists on both sides are emboldened by the rising temperature and growing chasms in Israeli society.

Speaking to Galei Tzahal radio, Zvika Fogel, Otzma Yehudit member of the Knesset (MK) and the chairperson of the Knesset’s national security committee said, “Yesterday, a terrorist came from Huwara – Huwara is closed and burnt. That’s what I want to see. Only thus can we obtain deterrence. The act that the residents of Judea and Samaria carried out yesterday is the strongest deterrent that the state of Israel has had since Operation Defensive Shield. After a murder like yesterday, villages should burn when the IDF doesn’t act.”

Responding to what can only be seen as inciteful comments, Yesh Atid Chairperson Yair Lapid the leader of the opposition, tweeted, “This isn’t a fully right-wing government, it’s a fully anarchist government. MK Fogel should go to jail for incitement of terror.” Israeli leaders, including Otzma Yehudit chairperson and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, called for citizens not to take action into their own hands.

Israeli society is growing ever more fractured. The voices of protest against the government’s planned judicial overhaul are growing louder and the crowds are growing larger. There’s growing concern that we’re headed towards a dangerous collision, a sentiment voiced by President Isaac Herzog in his address to the nation just weeks ago.

Tempers are flaring in our region, and many are concerned that the genie is out of the bottle and will be difficult to contain. It’s alarming to see a significant increase in incitement from both sides.

We take every murder caused by terror attacks personally in Israel. It wrenches at our combined heart, and there’s a seemingly never-ending stream of tears and sorrow. But we cannot become vigilantes and take the law into our own hands no matter how angry and frustrated we are. We have the IDF and police to maintain law and order.

Israel is fighting battles on many fronts, not just on the security front, but also for the country’s soul. We need cool, calm heads to prevail. We cannot allow for extremism, which has already taken root, to flourish. Israel deserves better than that.

• Rolene Marks is a Middle East commentator often heard on radio and TV, and is the co-founder of Lay of the Land and the SA-Israel Policy Forum.