Sarid and Zucker Memoranda on Settler Violence
February – April 1989
In 1989, against the backdrop of the First Intifada, Members of Knesset Yossi Sarid and Dedi Zucker (Ratz Party) repeatedly warned government ministers about the expanding activities of armed settler groups throughout the West Bank. These groups carried out independent patrols on West Bank roads and engaged in arbitrary attacks on Palestinians and their property – “acts of retaliation, deterrence, punishment, and revenge,” in their words.
Sarid and Zucker noted that these actions were accompanied by “an unreasonable degree of willful blindness and leniency on the part of the military command.” In a series of memoranda, the two appealed to the Ministers of Justice, Defense, and Police, reminding them of their duty to ensure that those responsible were brought to justice.
Source of the documents: Hashomer Hatzair Archive (Yad Yaari)