Palestinians toward the 50,000 Israelis who were then living in the settlements

Palestinians toward the 50,000 Israelis who were then living in the settlements. At the time, by far most Palestinians were not involved in any violence. They were mainly interested in getting on with their lives. Yet there were signs of trouble. The PLO leaders’ relocation to Tunis had reduced their direct influence. But the briefings I got from Shin Bet officers made it clear that some young West Bankers had begun trying to organize attacks against police, soldiers and Israeli civilians. The settlements were also growing in number, and their residents were not above acts of violence against Palestinians. Further complicating the situation was the fact the settlers enjoyed the support of key Likud members in the cabinet: Shamir, who was about to take his turn as Prime Minister in October 1986; Misha, now a minister without portfolio; and most of all Arik Sharon. In an astonishing demonstration of resilience and determination, not only had Arik remained as a minister without portfolio when Shamir succeeded Menachem Begin. In the coalition government, he had become Minister of Trade and Labor. Most importantly, when he’d been Agriculture Minister under Begin, he was the driving force in plans to expand Jewish settlement on the West Bank, including “blocs” placed around the major Palestinian towns and cities for the first time since 1967. I had a responsibility to protect the settlers, and I did my best to fulfil it. Yet I believed it was essential they understood that they were subject to the authority of the state of Israel and, like other Israeli citizens, had to operate within the law. This was no mere theoretical problem. A Jewish underground had been established by members of Gush Emunim, the Orthodox Jewish movement set up in the 1970s to advance what they saw as a divinely mandated mission to settle the West Bank. It had carried out car-bombings and other attacks in the early 1980s, leaving two Palestinian mayors crippled for life. The terror campaign had ended only when the Shin Bet caught the cell placing explosives under Arab-owned buses in Jerusalem. Hopeful of preventing misunderstandings, and ideally building a relationship of trust, I visited many of the settlements during the early weeks in my new post and spoke with their leaders, a few of whom remain friends to this day. But in the spring of 1986, we faced our first major test on the ground. In a pre- Passover event organized by Gush Emunim, some 10,000 settlers streamed into Hebron, a city sacred not only to Jews but Muslims as well as the burial place of Hebrew patriarchs and matriarchs. Peace Now activists had planned a counter- protest, but Rabin denied them permission. Still, anti-settlement members of the Knesset and other Israeli peace activists did get clearance to march from Jerusalem to Hebron. 221 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011692