Analysis: Israel’s government can’t disown West Bank settler violence

Israeli settlers have marauded across the occupied West Bank for months, attacking Palestinian towns and villages with impunity.Events in Qusra, a village south of Nablus, where Israeli settlers have laid siege to three Palestinian households since Sunday, have even led to a rare condemnation of settler behaviour by the Israeli government, with spokesperson David Mercer calling the settlers’ actions “deplorable” and “unacceptable”, and promising that Israeli authorities would investigate and arrest those responsible.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israeli forces order families to evacuate homes in Qusralist 2 of 4UN, Palestinian ministry condemn Israeli settler siege of West Bank homeslist 3 of 4Huckabee calls Israeli settlers ‘terrorists’: Can US push end Qusra siege?list 4 of 4US wants Netanyahu to condemn settler violence in Qusraend of listAnalysts, campaigners, and Israeli parliamentarians who spoke to Al Jazeera have reacted to that with disbelief and incredulity, pointing to the inability of the Israeli military to stop the siege, in which the settlers have cut off water and electricity to Qusra. Israeli soldiers were initially even seen mingling and even prayi...