Israel's security establishment accused the government of sabotaging its efforts to deal with spiralling settler violence against the Palestinians in the West Bank.

One source told the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz that "The Israeli army and the Shin Bet have lost control and the ability to act against settlers in recent months, who act as they please with the encouragement of the government ministers and members of the coalition."

The sources said that politicians have prevented the security establishment from ramping up their forces in the West Bank in order to halt nationalist attacks, and has not allowed them to evacuate outposts. They added that the government demanded that no restrictions would be imposed on the entry of equipment to new outposts.

An Israeli security source said: "We are already virtually unable to control the rioters on the ground who are doing whatever they want in the West Bank. The police are not in the field, nor does it look like they will come any time soon."

Another senior official told Haaretz that "We are not talking about a handful of settlers, but hundreds, and the phenomenon is expanding. They used to operate in the dark, but today they operate in the middle of the day."