Israeli lawyer says 'settler violence is state violence, a monster with many arms'

A prominent Israeli attorney and rights activist, Michael Sfard, has said that "settler violence is state violence" and one must not be "misled by the notion that there are these bad settlers and an army caught in between Palestinians". "There is one machine. It is one machine. Settler violence is state violence. It is supported by the state. It is funded by the state. It gets guns from the state. It gets their farms from the state. It gets immunity from the state. But it is a joint venture and it is a huge apparatus," Sfard said, according to a video by New Israel Fund and shared by Tim Anderson, Director of the Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies. "It is a huge monster with many arms and Palestinians are being displaced on a daily basis," Sfard said. Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard: don't be misled by the idea that there are 'bad apple' settlers on the Zionist tree. There is "one machine". https://t.co/GfKn9xw5o4 — tim anderson (@timand2037) October 30, 2026