Brigadier General (res.) Erez Weiner, former operations officer for the Judea and Samaria Division, and Colonel Prof. Gabi Siboni, former commander of the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, launched a direct attack against the term “settler violence."
In an extensive paper published as research fellows at the ICGS Strategy Center, the two argue that the term is part of a well-funded political campaign designed to generate international pressure on Israel and undermine the standing of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
The researchers point to what they describe as a deep gap between international reporting and the reality on the ground. According to the paper, United Nations OCHA data include incidents unrelated to violence, such as Jewish visits to the Temple Mount, nature hikes, or state infrastructure work.
Police data presented in the study show that between 2014 and 2024, only about 40% of complaints led to criminal investigations. In certain areas, such as the South Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley, about half of the complaints filed since the outbreak of the war were allegedly found to be false reports.
Weiner and Siboni also emphasize the economic dimension of the issue. Between 2020 and 2025, foreign governments and the European Union reportedly transferred nearly 94 million shekels to Israeli left-wing organizations involved in documenting and publicizing such incidents.
They compare this to what they describe as the international community’s lack of interest in rising crime within Arab society in Israel - where more than 250 murders had been recorded by October 2025 - and argue that the focus on Judea and Samaria is politically motivated and biased.
While clarifying that they strongly oppose all violent or illegal acts and support firm law enforcement, the officers recommend that the Israeli government launch a counter-public relations campaign. Their main recommendation is the creation of a unified national database combining information from the police, the Shin Bet, and the Civil Administration, which would present transparent and verified real-time data to the world in order to refute what they call a “modern blood libel."