The settlers of Itamar in the West Bank have taken upon themselves security powers and are violently chasing away the farmers from the adjacent villages of Yanoun and Akrabeh. According to reports from the villagers, armed settlers are riding into the villages on all-terrain vehicles and are threatening and beating the farmers who are going out to harvest the olive trees they own or lease, thereby undermining their principal source of income at this time of the year.

This ongoing persecution - which has been accompanied by gunfire directed at the farmers and their homes, the torching of the Yanoun village generator and the contamination of the well in the area - has already caused most of the village residents to abandon their homes. The village, which was once home to 150 families, now has less than 10 families living there.

Dozens of complaints dating as far back as 1998 and concerning the vandalization of property have been filed by the village residents with the Israel Police, but these have gone no further than a confirmation of their receipt. Till now, no one has stood trial and no indictments have been served against the persecutors.

The villages of Yanoun and Akrabeh are, in fact, under Israeli control. Nevertheless, it turns out that the Israel Defense Forces and the police are in no hurry to uphold the law. Instead, representatives of the security forces are trying to forge "understandings" and "agreements" between the settlers and the villagers, as if they were mediators and not law enforcement authorities.

According to some of these understandings, the IDF is prepared to provide security for the villagers to harvest their olives and work their land, provided that such actions are carried out at a distance from the settlement - or, more correctly, beyond the area marked out by the settlers. The official argument is that if the Palestinian farmers are too close to the settlement, they could undermine the security of the settlers.

However, and also under these same understandings, the IDF is hesitant to ensure the livelihood of the farmers. Last week, military officials informed the olive harvesters that the IDF was unable to secure their work and hence, they should return to their homes. It appears that only the presence of representatives of the Ta'ayush Arab-Jewish partnership organization, alongside members of the media, caused the IDF to change its tune and decide to deploy forces to separate the settlers and the farmers.

It is doubtful whether this arrangement can go on for very long. The IDF's list of priorities, so it appears, is not directed toward providing security for Palestinians who wish to earn a living from their land. One can assume that the IDF does not want to enter into a confrontation with a group of settler-thugs on a matter that it does not view as a security task.

However, the conflicts between the settlers and the Palestinian residents of Yanoun, Akrabeh and other villages in the West Bank are, in fact, the true test for the IDF's ability to control matters. The commandeering of land, the demarcation of a settlement's jurisdiction and, primarily, securing the source of livelihood of innocent citizens cannot be passed into the hands of the settlers. In this regard, there is absolutely no difference between the establishment of an illegal outpost and the forceful commandeering of a village's land on the way to expelling its residents.

The IDF's response must be both determined and ongoing so as to make it clear that as long as the occupation continues, there is only one authority in charge of upholding the rights of both the Jewish and Arab civilians.