Blaming Settlers Hides What's Brewing Beneath the Surface
Shalom Ben Hanan, a former senior Shin Bet official, argues that blaming settlers for Palestinian terrorism obscures the real causes: religious incitement around the Temple Mount, the narrative of 'Al-Aqsa is conquered,' and the situation in Gaza. He warns of a broad wave of terrorism in the West Bank and criticizes the system's focus on Jewish violence instead of addressing the deep Palestinian drivers.
Shalom Ben Hanan, a former senior Shin Bet official, analyzes recent events in the West Bank and warns of a broad wave of terrorism. According to him, the severe attack near Kfar Tel is only a catalyst, and the real causes are deep trends: religious incitement around the Temple Mount, the narrative of 'Al-Aqsa is conquered' replacing 'Al-Aqsa is in danger,' and the complex situation in the Gaza Strip fueling terrorism. He criticizes the focus on Jewish violence by a radical minority and argues that attributing all Palestinian terrorism to this violence distorts intelligence analysis and hides the main drivers. Ben Hanan notes that the Palestinian Authority and the Waqf themselves incite, and that the handling of incitement is poor to the point of ridiculous, as evidenced by the trial of Kamal Khatib ending in community service. He calls for addressing the deep ideological drivers of Palestinian terrorism, which intensive counterterrorism hardly touches.