Yitzhar settlers entered a nearby Palestinian village for the second time in three days on Saturday night, threw stones and caused damage to property.

Israel Defense Soldiers and policemen were called in to the village of Asira Qibliyya, south of Nablus, and forced the settlers out. The settlers escaped back to Yitzhar, and one man was arrested. When security forces entered the settlement, the tires on three military jeeps.

According to security services, many of the settlers were inebriated.

On Friday, some 20 residents of the settlement descended on the Palestinian village and threw stones and damaged property. When troops arrived to remove them, they clashed with them. The soldiers gathered that most of the settlers were drunk, apparently following Purim festivities.

Police and soldiers came to the settlement to arrest the ringleaders, but a large crowd was waiting for them. According to the Israel Defense Forces, settlers threw stones and also shouted "Nazis." A reserves officer had the tires on his jeep punctured. The police and soldiers began to withdraw, without having made any arrests, but were hampered even in this when rioters briefly blocked their path.

Eventually, the security forces left, vowing to return later and make arrests. It is doubtful that promise will be kept. Unless changed since Saturday night, the laws of the state do not apply to the residents of Yitzhar. A senior officer in the IDF Central Command termed the riot "ignominious conduct by outlaws." Here's slight comfort: If the IDF doesn't enforce law and order, at least it insists on using nice language.

The Yitzhar riot is not exceptional. Just last week there were seven incidents involving settler attacks on Palestinians. The context for these events is not Purim, but the disengagement plan. Throughout the West Bank - particularly in Samaria - emotions are running high. The IDF has managed lately to reduce attacks by extreme rightists on religious officers, but the energy suppressed there is erupting elsewhere, mostly against unfortunate Palestinians - neighbors of fanatic settlements or construction workers at Israeli settlements in Samaria.

The increased tension in Samaria (which blends with the less violent demonstrations and road blocking in the center of the country, sometimes involving the same people) spurs the debate in the defense and judicial establishments over the nature and timing of steps to be taken against right-wing extremists.

Some of Central Command's top brass have maintained for some time that administrative detention orders should be issued against the main activists; the Shin Bet has so far objected.

One idea that will apparently be viewed more favorably is to issue restraining orders barring from the territories people caught leading riots. The IDF is talking about the need to augment documentary means (especially video cameras) at protests, so evidence can be presented against rioters. Another suggestion raised: publicizing that teenagers arrested will later have trouble enlisting in elite IDF units. For teens from veteran settlements (as opposed to the "hilltop youth" from the outposts) this could prove a significant deterrent.

Sometimes, a third party turns out to be doing the authorities' job. Avri Ran is the "sheriff" of the hilltop outposts near the Itamar settlement. A newly religious ex-kibbutznik who has attracted dozens of fans, Ran is considered a key player in fanatic circles in Samaria. The Shin Bet has suspicions, unproved in court, of his involvement in major activity.

Last week, left-wing Israeli activists encouraged a Palestinian resident to cultivate his land near one of the outposts. Ran, who claims ownership of the land, along with several other settlers assaulted the Palestinian. In arresting him, the police was helped by incriminating photographs of the incident supplied by the left-wingers. Ran, who remains in custody, has already been indicted in a fast-track procedure. The police will ask that he be remanded for the duration of the proceedings. Perhaps a few more moves like this will help get key activists on the extreme right out of the ring at a critical time.

The IDF, meanwhile, is deliberating how to treat the settlers. Former OC Central Command Moshe Kaplinsky (since appointed deputy chief of staff) simply found them annoying; his final months on the job were characterized by recurrent scolding of the settler leadership. His successor, Major General Yair Naveh, brought a different approach to the West Bank.

Naveh stresses the need to "embrace" the settler mainstream (as opposed to the extremists), ahead of the expected clash surrounding the disengagement. A round of talks he held last week with residents of the four settlements slated for evacuation helped calm matters. Naveh also maintains constant contact with leading rabbis in the territories.

Naveh is in an awkward situation. He has close relatives living in settlements. At the synagogue he attends on weekends, he recently told his officers, they're signing up for swelling the settlements before their evacuation this summer. Hebron settlers boasted recently that "this time they appointed a general of our own." It's complete nonsense, of course. When the moment arrives, Naveh will enforce the law stringently and stick to his task to evacuate northern Samaria, despite clashes with the settlers. Then the usefulness of the "embracing" approach will also be verified. Past experience shows the extreme right reserved its most aggressive treatment for officers who disappointed their expectations.