Senior Israeli official: Settler violence harming Israel, Syria security deal attempt failed

Settler violence in the West Bank is causing diplomatic damage to Israel but has declined in recent months, while an Israeli attempt to reach a security agreement with Syria has failed, a senior Israeli diplomatic official said on Wednesday.

According to the official, the number of violent incidents involving settlers, including serious incidents, has fallen in recent months, while enforcement activity and arrests have increased.

The official described March as a "peak month," saying that both the overall number of incidents and the number of serious incidents declined between March and July. At the same time, enforcement increased.

"The phenomenon still exists. It needs to be dealt with," the official said. "We certainly see the damage caused as a result of it."

Foreign Ministry working to combat damage caused by West Bank settler violence

Israel is acting on several fronts to combat the phenomenon, the official said, ranging from deploying additional personnel and increasing enforcement on the ground to other measures aimed at addressing those behind the violence.

Amid international criticism, the Foreign Ministry is also working to present more clearly the steps Israeli authorities are taking against Israelis involved in violent incidents, the official added.

"We asked to show, not just tell, the enforcement actions," the official said. According to the official, this was also why footage of arrests and legal proceedings has been released recently. The goal is to demonstrate internationally that Israeli authorities are taking action against those involved in violence.

The official sought to distinguish the violence issue from the broader dispute between Israel and European countries over Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Israel rejects the European position regarding settlements, the official said, while at the same time continuing to act against Israelis involved in violence.

The official also noted that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had published an article opposing the phenomenon and addressed the relevant public on the issue.

Defense agreement falls through with Syria, Israeli official says

On Syria, the official confirmed that an attempt to reach a security agreement between Israel and the government in Damascus had failed.

"We tried to reach a security agreement. In the end, it did not succeed," the official said.

One development that complicated the talks was the easing of sanctions imposed on Syria, according to the official.

"Syrian motivation to move forward with such an agreement declined when certain sanctions on Syria were lifted," the official said.

Another central issue was the buffer zone. Israel was unwilling to accept an agreement that would require it to withdraw from the area.

"We did not think that, as part of a security arrangement or security agreement, we should withdraw from the buffer zone, which is a security asset," the official said.

Despite the failure to reach an agreement, communication channels with Damascus remain active.

"The State of Israel has communication channels with the Syrian regime," the official said.

The dialogue is taking place on several levels and concerns, among other things, security arrangements in southern Syria.

"I can't go into all the content, but there are channels in which dialogue is taking place. We try in this dialogue to preserve the interests of the State of Israel, the security interests," the official said.

Hamas disarmament stalls in Gaza, Israel working to keep diplomatic negotiations alive with the US

Regarding Gaza, the official said there had so far been no breakthrough on what Israel considers the central issue, the disarmament of Hamas.

"Unfortunately, there is no progress on the issue of disarmament," the official said.

Israel does not want the diplomatic track with the Americans and the Peace Council to collapse, the official said, but insists it include the conditions Israel believes were established in the original plan.

"Our basic argument was that the 15-point plan does not correspond with the 20-point plan," the official said. "We have no interest in the plan collapsing. We have an interest in the plan being implemented, but from our perspective, implementing the plan means implementing all of its conditions."

Two working groups are operating between Israel and the Peace Council, one dealing with the disarmament of Hamas and the other with humanitarian issues, according to the official.

Even if there is skepticism about the prospects of achieving all of Israel's objectives through the diplomatic track, Israel wants to exhaust that avenue as long as it offers an opportunity to achieve some of the goals of the war, the official said.

Israel also continues to link the disarmament of Hamas to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

"We have always emphasized that the issue of reconstruction is linked to the issue of disarmament," the official said.

The international stabilization force, the ISF, has also not yet reached the implementation stage. According to the official, discussions on the issue are continuing with the Americans, and Morocco and Uganda are among the countries involved in the discussions.

The official said he had discussed the matter with the Moroccan foreign minister and said that "Israel's expectation is for a move connected to Hamas disarming."

On Lebanon, the official said Israel opposes the establishment of a "new UNIFIL." UNIFIL did not fulfill its role and had hindered Israeli activity over the years, the official said.

Jerusalem is not, however, ruling out other mechanisms, including training units of the Lebanese Armed Forces or establishing a verification mechanism.

Israel has raised the possibility that the US could train dedicated units in the Lebanese military that would be capable of effectively taking control of territory, the official said.

Israel also does not expect to object in principle to Italian participation in a verification mechanism if one is established.

The official estimated that the next round of talks between Israel, the US, and Lebanon would take place during September.

Regarding Turkey, the official said Israel does not define it as an "enemy state," but that it can be viewed as a rival because of steps Ankara has taken in recent years.

In earlier periods, the official said, messages were passed between Jerusalem and Ankara through Azerbaijan, but "that has been happening less recently."

The sides exchanged a few words during a meeting held as part of the Peace Council, the official said, but "there are no intensive exchanges."

Despite the escalation in rhetoric between the two countries, the official added that he did not believe either Israel or Turkey wanted to reach the point of a direct exchange of fire.