An Israeli minister criticized Jewish ‘settler violence.’ Now he has 24/7 protection after extremist threats.

Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said Monday that helium volition person round-the-clock information extortion pursuing threats of harm from extremist Israeli Jews.

The quality comes amid a crisp summation successful attacks targeting Palestinians surviving successful the occupied West Bank, which Barlev had criticized successful caller discussions with a visiting State Department official. His remarks drew the ire of right-wing politicians successful the country, including members of the conjugation authorities successful which helium serves.

“Jews are stabbed and changeable successful the streets, due to the fact that they are Jews, connected your shift, and you situation to speech astir settler violence?” Simcha Rothman, an ultraconservative Israeli lawmaker, tweeted successful effect to Barlev earlier this month.

Earlier this month, Israeli authorities arrested a antheral who allegedly threatened Barlev connected Facebook, saying that helium hoped to spot the curate “lynched,” according to the Times of Israel newspaper. At slightest 1 different elder authoritative has besides reportedly received accrued extortion arsenic the conjugation authorities pushes up with reforms that threaten privileges agelong enjoyed by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

Barlev, a subordinate of the left-leaning Labor Party, suggested that helium had expected threats from “Arab criminals” that helium had targeted. “But that is not the case,” helium wrote connected Twitter. “I americium threatened by Israeli Jews.”

At a caller enactment meeting, Barlev besides criticized the right-wing Yamina Party, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, of turning him into “the force of each settlers, and 1 who doesn’t recognize information and coercion by Palestinians,” the Associated Press reported.

The information chief’s disapproval of “settler violence” is important due to the fact that some Barlev and his begetter person held important positions successful the country’s defence establishment, said David Makovsky, a Middle East adept astatine the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The announcement that Barlev needs regular extortion shines “a spotlight connected a increasing improvement that tin nary longer beryllium ignored arsenic the actions of conscionable a fistful of unruly youths," Makovsky added.

Barlev and Yasmina did not instrumentality requests for remark aboriginal Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the Israeli authorities could not instantly beryllium reached for comment.

The West Bank has successful caller months seen a spike successful beatings, arson, vandalism and rock-throwing — astir taking spot wherever Palestinian farms and groves are adjacent to Jewish settlements established connected onshore captured by Israel successful the 1967 war. The United Nations Security Council has called specified settlements a usurpation of planetary instrumentality and immoderate leaders of Israel’s governing conjugation person called for a crackdown connected settler violence.

Videos compiled by rights groups suggest that Israeli soldiers, who are tasked to supply information successful these neighborhoods, bash small to intervene successful convulsive incidents. Some watchdogs besides allege that Israel Defense Forces members have, successful immoderate cases, aided successful specified attacks. The IDF says specified allegations are false.

Last month, Commanders for Israel’s Security — a radical of much than 300 retired Israeli military, information and quality officials — delivered a missive to members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, decrying settler unit against Palestinians arsenic a menace to the regularisation of instrumentality and the country’s planetary standing.

Steve Hendrix successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.