Israeli Settler Equates One Jewish Life to 10 Million Palestinians in BBC Interview
In the ongoing Israel conflict, an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank told the BBC that attacks on nearby Palestinian villages were justified as revenge for the killing of an Israeli security guard, equating one Jewish life with millions of Palestinian lives.
Settler Justifies Attacks as Revenge
Yehuda Shimon, a lawyer with an organisation that represents Israelis arrested for violence against Palestinians, spoke from the Havat Gilad outpost. He told the BBC that attacks on Palestinian villages last weekend were justified as revenge for the killing of the outpost's security guard. "I think now, after they killed one Israeli, we need to kill all the people in Tal and Sarra, even Jit and Farata," he said, naming the Palestinian villages closest to the outpost. When challenged on equating one Jewish life with hundreds or even thousands of Palestinian lives, Shimon replied, "No, millions. One Jewish life, it's 10 million [Palestinians]." Challenged on the racism of his statement, he did not deny it and said, "Yes, I know. But this is the truth, because God chose us [and] because of this you are jealous." Shimon criticised the Israeli army for not using lethal force often enough against Palestinians during confrontations with settlers, stating that the army prefers to separate people rather than kill Palestinians, which he claimed leads to further killings of Israelis. [2]
Context of the Triggering Incident
Last weekend saw a wave of settler attacks on Palestinian villages in the area after an Israeli security guard from Havat Gilad was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the village of Tal last Friday. Four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were also killed in the incident, the original cause of which is disputed. [2] 
Israeli settler Yehuda Shimon speaks to the BBC at the Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank. — Source: bbc
Rising Violence Statistics
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs tracks numbers of those killed and injured in the West Bank. It says 64 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank from the beginning of this year until 20 July, including 18 during settler attacks. At least 12 of those were killed by settlers, three by Israeli forces, and in three other cases it is not yet clear whether soldiers or settlers were responsible. It says one Israeli was killed over the same period. The number of injuries inflicted by settlers during these attacks has risen sharply to more than three per day this year, OCHA says. [2]
Broader Patterns of Incursions
Israeli forces conducted a raid and search of a house in southern Syria as part of recurring incursions there. [1] Separately, Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian child during a West Bank raid while conducting incursions across several towns in the southern occupied West Bank. [4] 
Israeli settler Yehuda Shimon speaks to the BBC from Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank. — Source: bangkokpost
Impact on Palestinian Harvest and Daily Life
In the West Bank village of Tel, Israeli occupiers’ violence has disrupted the olive and fig harvest, forcing cancellation of the annual fig festival and cutting residents off from their orchards at the peak of harvest season. [5]
Settler Views on Land and Solutions
Shimon dismissed international law in favor of Biblical claims to the land. He laid out three options for Palestinian residents of the West Bank: live quietly under Israeli rule and ownership of the land; voluntarily emigrate to other Arab or Muslim nations; or face death, stating, "if you don't want to make peace with us, and you don't want to get out, I don't have a choice: I must kill you, and I kill you all." This vision aligns closely with a plan outlined by Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a 2017 blueprint, which presented options for Palestinians to give up national ambitions or face being killed. [2]
What to watch next: Israeli forces continue recurring incursions in southern Syria while settler attacks and restrictions persist in West Bank villages like Tel.
