AREA C: Why IDF Had To Stop Their Own Jewish Residents From Harming Palestinians

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

Defense Minister Israel Katz at a session with military officials to discuss the issue of far Right settler violence against the IDF, July 1, 2025.  (photo credit: ARIEL HERMONI/MOD) from Jerusalem Post

Screen grabs from footage published by Palestinian news sites allegedly shows armed settlers expelling Palestinian farmers from their fields, in the village of Shuqba, near Ramallah, June 28, 2025. (X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law) (edited)  The Times of Israel 

Getting attention recently are outbursts of violence in Judea-Samaria by settlers against the IDF.  "Recent incidents of assaults against soldiers and the arson attack against a security facility were discussed, as well as the separate shooting incident involving a minor that occurred under different circumstances and is under investigation. The participants emphasized that the broader settler community is not involved in such violent acts, rather saying that the perpetrators are a small, radical, and violent minority who intentionally engage in attacks, including against security forces and fellow settlers."  

The reservists and police were dispatched to Kafr Malik near Ramallah on Friday evening due to fresh rioting there. The area was declared a closed military zone due to a deadly settler attack there on Wednesday.  

Kafr Malik was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the nahiya of Al-Quds in the liwa of Al-Quds. It had a population of 21 household, who were all Muslims.  In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Kafr Malik came under Jordanian rule.

"The defense minister said that a joint enforcement body headed by police and including the IDF and Shin Bet will be established to coordinate efforts related to these incidents."

More than 100 settlers on Wednesday evening entered the West Bank town of Kfar Malik, setting property ablaze and opening fire on Palestinians who tried to stop them, Najeb Rostom, head of the local council, said. Three Palestinians were killed after the military intervened. Israeli security forces arrested five settlers.

103-76 BCE   King and High Priest of Judaea, King Alexander Jonathan Hyrcanus

Kafr Malik (Arabic: كفر مالك) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate  located 17 kilometers Northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,946 inhabitants in 2017.  Kafr Malik has been suggested as being identical to Beth HaMelekh, where Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus besieged his Pharisee adversaries.  Born Jonathan יהונתן) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judaea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, he inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I, and married his brother's widow, Queen Salome Alexandra.

In the 1945 statistics the population was 1,100; 1,080 Muslims and 20 Christians, while the total land area was 52,196 dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 3,580 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 10,984 for cereals, while 53 dunams were classified as built-up areas.

   Area C, controlled by Israel under Oslo Accords, in blue and red

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Kafr Malik has been under Israeli occupation.  In other words, the war was a 6 day attack by all the neighbors of Israel, like a pack of dogs attacking a cat, but this cat won the battle, taking back land that had been theirs originally.  Judea and Samaria-renamed by Jordan as the West Bank, was the original home of the Jews.  Judah was one of the 12 tribes that settled there with Joshua's leadership who took over after Moses had died.  

After the 1995 accords, 12,7% of Kafr Malik land is defined as Area B land, while the remaining 87,3% is defined as Area C. Area C of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, is under the full administrative and security control of Israel. This area constitutes approximately 60% of the West Bank. While the Oslo Accords envisioned a gradual transfer of Area C to Palestinian jurisdiction, this has not occurred.  Israel has confiscated land from Kafr Malik for the Israeli settlements of Kokhav HaShahar and Mitzpe Kramim.

• Area C: is defined by the Oslo II Accord as areas of the West Bank outside of Areas A and B. 
• Area A: is under full Palestinian Authority administration and security control. 
• Area B: is under Palestinian civil administration and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control. 
• Area C, however, remains under exclusive Israeli control regarding civil and security matters. 
• Israeli settlements: are primarily located in Area C. 
• Palestinian construction and development: in Area C is severely restricted by Israel, according to B'Tselem. 
• Israeli military law: is applied in Area C. 
• Land registration and planning: are also under Israeli control in Area C. 

"After the attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson called the incursions and attacks by armed Jewish settlers "acts of terror conducted by criminals", adding that the IDF had “failed to prevent” the attacks, described as “very grave”, and that such incidents "create terror" by pushing the attacked civilian populations "towards extremism." "  Yes, it does rile  up the Palestinians who are in the wrong area in the first place.  This is rough;  IDF against their own people who are the riled up settlers.  

Approximately 400,000 Israeli settlers reside in around 230 settlements within Area C, while around 300,000 Palestinians live in 532 residential areas. 

In 2023, Area C was home to 491,548 Israeli settlers, and 354,000 Palestinians. The Jewish population in Area C is administered by the Israeli Judea and Samaria .  Why are Palestinians there in the first place?  It is strictly the Jewish area ?  While the Oslo Accords did divide the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C, with Area C under Israeli civil and security control, it did not designate it as exclusively "Jewish" territory. The Oslo II Accord, in particular, committed to a gradual transfer of Area C to Palestinian jurisdiction. However, this transfer has not occurred, and a significant Palestinian population lives within Area C.    Rumor was that they were building in there without permits, 

etc.  

Resource: 

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-859596

https://www.timesofisrael.com/settlers-allegedly-beat-and-choke-reservists-amid-riot-in-west-bank-village-9-arrested/