Israel 'has lost control' as West Bank settlers attack

ISRAELI political and military leaders are scrambling to contain a recent wave of settler attacks across the West Bank, warning against further violence targeting Palestinian communities as vigilantes have rampaged through villages, beating local residents, torching a mosque, and assaulting and injuring Israeli security forces who helped demolish an illegal outpost this week near the flash point city of Hebron.

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The attacks, carried out by roving gangs of masked men and boys, have underscored the extent to which the Israeli government has allowed Jewish settlers to operate with impunity in the occupied territory. They have also exposed a deep rift between the most radical Israeli settlers, who believe they have a divine right to the land, and parts of the traditional security establishment, which sees the violence as undermining the state.

In recent days, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Defence Minister Israel Katz, have condemned what they described as violent incidents perpetrated by a small group of extremists. Herzog called the violence "shocking and serious" and said it "crosses a red line." And Katz, who last year ended administrative detention for Jewish settlers suspected of attacks, pledged more money and resources for a Defence Ministry initiative he said seeks to reduce the attacks through dialogue.

But current and former members of Israel's political and security elite have also raised the alarm - and instead blamed the government for enacting policies they said either encouraged settler violence or allowed it to flourish.