{"id":2527391,"date":"2025-12-31T13:41:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T18:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank-despite-trumps-concerns\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T13:43:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T18:43:06","slug":"netanyahu-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank-despite-trumps-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/netanyahu-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank-despite-trumps-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu downplays settler violence in West Bank despite Trump&#8217;s concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnetanyahu-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank-despite-trumps-concerns%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2527391&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to downplay recent settler violence in the West Bank, calling media coverage &#8220;bloated&#8221; and saying the incidents involve &#8220;a handful of kids&#8221; &#8211; roughly 70 teenagers he claimed are not even from the West Bank &#8211; and describing the acts as vandalism and arson that his government is working to stop. Security forces and rights groups,though,report widespread escalation: the IDF documented about 752 incidents of &#8220;nationalistic crime&#8221; and settler violence in 2025,including burned homes,vehicles and farmland,assaults,killings,and attacks on journalists during the olive harvest. The situation has become a diplomatic flashpoint with the United States: the White House opposes annexation of the West Bank, Vice President JD Vance criticized a Knesset annexation vote, and President Trump warned Netanyahu that further escalation could jeopardize the Gaza peace process. At the same time, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced recognition of 19 additional settlements, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-democrats-are-backing-an-illegal-alien-to-run-iowa-schools\/\" title=\"Why Democrats Are Backing An Illegal Alien To Run Iowa Schools\">underscoring deep divisions<\/a> within Israel and between Israel and its closest ally over the future of the territory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Netanyahu downplays settler violence in West Bank despite Trump&rsquo;s concerns<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2381330\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> said the coverage of recurring violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is &ldquo;bloated&rdquo; and disproportionate to the actual problem, which he said amounts to &ldquo;a handful of kids.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3889496\/israel-investigating-settlers-set-fire-west-bank-village-injured-idf-soldiers\/\">Violence against Palestinians <\/a>in the West Bank has continued to escalate for months as mobs of settler extremists attempt to force the civilians out of their homes, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3884195\/israeli-president-condemns-settler-mob-burned-palestinian-factories-vehicles\/\">clashing with Israel Defense Forces personnel <\/a>sent to quell the crowds at times.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4375386\/mali-burkina-faso-ban-us-nationals-retaliation-trump-travel-restrictions\/\">Mali and Burkina Faso ban US nationals in retaliation for Trump travel restrictions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4364840\/uk-government-squirms-repatriate-antisemitic-activist-egypt\/\">UK government squirms after repatriating antisemitic, anti-white activist from Egypt<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4364683\/isis-terrorists-killed-captured-large-scale-syria-attack-centcom\/\">Two dozen ISIS terrorists killed or captured after large-scale Syria attack: CENTCOM<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;When they&rsquo;re talking about [West Bank violence], they&rsquo;re talking about a handful of kids,&rdquo; Netanyahu told Fox News on Tuesday. &ldquo;We actually located it. It&rsquo;s about 70 kids. They&rsquo;re not from the West Bank.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Israeli settlers take pictures of foreign activists and farmers while attempting to disrupt the harvest of olive groves by Palestinian farmers, in the West Bank town of Silwad, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo\/Nasser Nasser, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Netanyahu went on to say the political violence mostly amounts to vandalism and arson.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re actually teenagers who come from broken homes, and they do things like chopping olive trees, and sometimes they try to burn a home,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t accept that. That&rsquo;s vigilantism. I&rsquo;m taking that out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/idf\/\">Israel Defense Forces<\/a> have documented approximately 752 incidents of &ldquo;nationalistic crime&rdquo; and &ldquo;settler violence&rdquo; in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>It has become a daily liability for both Muslims and Christians in the region, whose day-to-day lives have become completely upheaved by the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >largely unpunished mob violence<\/a>. Homes, vehicles, and farmland have been burned. Palestinians have been beaten on camera and even killed.<\/p>\n<p>The Foreign Press Association <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/foreign-press-association-demands-action-from-israel-over-settler-attacks-on-journalists\/\">said last month<\/a> that &ldquo;journalists, both local and foreign, have proven to be a clear target as they document an unprecedented level of unchecked violence against Palestinians during this year&rsquo;s olive harvest.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/beltway-confidential\/4342532\/hamas-weapons-west-bank-chaos-risk-trump-peace-plan\/\">future of the West Bank<\/a> has become a wedge between Netanyahu and his most important ally, President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The White House has promised to prevent further annexation of the West Bank, which Zionist officials in Israel believe rightfully belongs to the Jewish people as the Biblical lands of Judea and Samaria.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Palestinian and Israeli activists take part in a protest against Israeli settlers&rsquo; violence as they gather in the West Bank town of Beit Jala, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In October, a preliminary vote in the Knesset sought to formally annex the region &mdash; an action that Vice President JD Vance told Israeli media amounted to a &ldquo;very stupid political stunt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I personally take some insult to it,&rdquo; Vance said. &ldquo;The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump later told the press that &ldquo;Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank,&rdquo; but it seems that Israel&rsquo;s most vehement Zionists did not get the president&rsquo;s message.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Sunday that the Israeli Cabinet granted <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4142009\/israels-cabinet-19-settlements-west-bank\/\">recognition to 19 more settlements<\/a> in the West Bank.<\/p>\n<p>These settlements, explicitly intended to encroach upon Palestinian territory and prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state, are illegal under international law.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The people of Israel are returning to their land, building it and strengthening their hold on it. This is simple, correct and moral Zionism. We are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state. We will continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors, with faith in the righteousness of the path,&rdquo; Smotrich&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/bezalelsm\/status\/2002662564610654640?s=20\">wrote <\/a>on X, according to a translation.<\/p>\n<p>Trump touched on his disagreements with the Israeli government following a bilateral meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. The president reportedly warned Netanyahu during their Monday meeting that an escalation of violence in the West Bank could threaten the peace process in Gaza.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;We have had a discussion, big discussion, for a long time on the West Bank,&rdquo; Trump told the press after the meeting. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t say we agree on the West Bank 100%, but we will come to a conclusion on the West Bank.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4364407\/hamas-wont-disarm-trump-threats-five-senior-leaders-killed\/\">HAMAS VOWS NOT TO DISARM DESPITE TRUMP THREATS, ANNOUNCES FIVE SENIOR LEADERS KILLED<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu told Fox News that &ldquo;a lot of daylight&rdquo; remains between the White House and his Cabinet on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/west-bank\/\">West Bank question<\/a>, but he remains confident they share the same mission.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think we both want to see a future in which that territory is not used for terrorist attacks,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-govt-lockdown-to-last-12-months-expect-repeated-vaccinations\/\" title=\"UK Govt: Lockdown to Last 12+ Months, Expect Repeated Vaccinations\">prime minister<\/a> said. &ldquo;We have done a lot of things in that regard. We also want to build a lot of infrastructure there. Both for us and for our Palestinian neighbors, and I think there is a lot of room to talk about it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Netanyahu minimizes West Bank settler violence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2527392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25339610458903.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[6524,69811,40331],"class_list":["post-2527391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-netanyahu","tag-settler-violence","tag-west-bank"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25339610458903.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2527391"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2527395,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527391\/revisions\/2527395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2527392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2527391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2527391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2527391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}