BY ARIE PERLIGER DIRECTOR OF SECURITY STUDIES AND PROFESSOR OF CRIMINOLOGY AND JUSTICE STUDIES, UMASS LOWELL The increase in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank over the past year has been unprecedented. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and the start of the war, there have been more than 1,000 attacks, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. The spike, which has raised international alarm , is often blamed on the permissive policies of Israel’s right-wing government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a U.N. investigation , nearly half of all settler attacks documented in October 2023 were conducted in collaboration with, or in the presence of, Israeli military forces. I have studied Jewish violent extremism for more than 20 years . I would argue these developments result from long processes tied to the erosion of Israel’s democratic foundations – that the seeds were planted long before Netanyahu came to power. Since the late 1970s, t
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