Settler violence – not Iran – is Israel’s ‘most existential threat’, opposition leader says
The “most existential threat” to Israel doesn’t come from Iran, but “from within,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan says.
His comments come after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its soldiers were attacked by Israeli civilians overnight in the village of Kafr Malik, north of Jerusalem.
Golan alleged these people were settlers, and claimed they used “severe violence” against IDF troops.
“It may not make the headlines, but the most serious existential threat to the State of Israel does not come from Iran or Yemen. It comes from within,” he said, adding that Israel “stands at a crossroads”.
Golan says violence against innocents and IDF soldiers is not “not a fringe phenomenon,” but a “dangerous current that has taken a deep hold, even around the government’s table.”
Six arrested after attack
The Israeli army said in a statement that its soldiers were sent to disperse a gathering of Israeli civilians in an area designated as a closed military zone near the village of Kafr Malik.
It said the group “hurled stones” at soldiers upon their arrival, physically and verbally assaulting them, vandalised and damage their vehicles and attempted to “ram” their convoy.
It added that six people were arrested.
