Fatah and the Politics of Violence: The Institutionalization of a Popular Struggle

Jewish terrorism has evolved from a local enforcement problem into a distinct strategic threat to the State of Israel and its democratic character. The destructive combination of inadequate enforcement, a lack of political backing for the security agencies, and the weakness of the judicial and law enforcement systems is creating a reality marked by lawlessness, non-recognition of state institutions, and the loss of the state’s monopoly on the use of force. The lack of a decisive Israeli response to this phenomenon constitutes evidence that it is a policy directed from above. This reality poses a multidimensional threat to Israel: a security threat—diverting the IDF’s attention and forces toward confronting Jewish terrorism at the expense of defense needs in other arenas, while subjecting the military to ongoing operational strain. In addition, the risk of a violent uprising in Judea and Samaria is growing, alongside the collapse of Palestinian stabilizing mechanisms; a governance and societal threat—weakening law enforcement systems, eroding respect for state-mindedness and allowing violence to seep dangerously into Israeli society in a manner that could paralyze the functioning of the state; and an international threat—Israel’s portrayal as an aggressive, oppressive, and racist state is undermining the legitimacy of its use of force, severely damaging its standing in the region and worldwide, and raising the risk of acute diplomatic isolation. We warn of a threat to Israel’s very ability to govern and function. As history teaches us, democracies that fail to restrain radical forces within them do not survive.

The publication of a tender to build 1,234 housing units in E1 crosses a threshold that Israeli governments have avoided for years, due to American and European opposition. What are the implications of this controversial move?