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Middle East Eye
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
The rise of paramilitary settler groups in Israel's West Bank strategy
Last week, just days after Israeli forces killed three men while intervening to protect settlers violently storming the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik in the occupied West Bank, an unusual wave of condemnation swept through Israeli politics and media. But the outrage was not directed at the killing of Palestinians. It came only after settlers turned on Israeli soldiers. On Friday night, settlers, commonly referred to in Israel as the 'Hilltop Youth', attacked soldiers stationed at an outpost near Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah. The following day, the same group stormed a nearby military base. For a military long accustomed to escorting settlers during raids on Palestinian communities, the aggression from their usual allies was both unexpected and unsettling. The term 'Hilltop Youth' may no longer accurately describe this group. Their structure, tactics, and growing confidence suggest they now function more as a paramilitary organisation than as an informal collection of radicalised young settlers. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz, and politicians from across Israel's political spectrum, including members of both the coalition and the opposition, swiftly condemned the attacks on soldiers. Yet the violent activities of these settler groups against Palestinians have continued for years with little political or legal consequence. State-sanctioned violence The rise of settler militias is not a new phenomenon. During the May 2021 clashes between Jews and Palestinians, coordinated settler militias carried out simultaneous assaults on Palestinian villages across the West Bank. These militias do not operate spontaneously but rather operate within the framework of an organization that includes several hundred-armed men. Israeli army detains Palestinian family members after settlers attack village Read More » What has changed is the apparent formalisation of their operations under the current Israeli government. Since Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as Israel's finance minister, assumed control of the Civil Administration in the West Bank, these militias appear to be operating in closer alignment with a broader strategic objective: expanding Israeli control over Area C, which makes up about 60 per cent of the West Bank, effectively obstructing the possibility of establishing a future Palestinian state. A central feature of this strategy is the proliferation of so-called 'shepherds' farms', a settlement model that allows settlers to seize large tracts of land without formal government approval and with little, if any, military resistance. These farms typically begin with just a few settlers, sometimes as few as two or three, but they quickly spread across wide areas. Through these outposts, small groups of settlers, often linked to the Hilltop Youth, manage to assert control over vast stretches of land. The settlers who run these farms routinely intimidate and forcibly expel Palestinian herders and residents, creating de facto zones of exclusion without official annexation. For Palestinians living in the West Bank, the violence and dispossession inflicted by these militias are neither new nor isolated. But the recent attacks on Israeli soldiers have briefly drawn attention to these groups, exposing a reality Palestinians have long endured: that parts of the settler movement are evolving into organised, militarised forces pursuing a territorial agenda with increasing impunity. Post-Smotrich strategy Under Smotrich's leadership, many of these farms are now being legalised. At the same time, attacks (seemingly deliberate and coordinated) are increasing against Palestinian shepherds and Bedouin communities east of the Alon Road, particularly in the Jordan Valley. The purpose of these attacks appears to be clear: to drive Palestinians from the area. Recently, the settler militias have begun pushing westward from the Alon Road, moving closer to the Nablus and Ramallah regions. It remains uncertain whether the militias are receiving direct orders from Smotrich himself, but their objectives are evidently aligned. Both are working towards a shared goal: to consolidate Israeli control over Area C and to clear it of its Palestinian inhabitants. Smotrich's apparent aim is to ensure that these annexed areas are as devoid of Palestinians as possible, reducing the number who would have any claim to citizenship An example of this tacit cooperation emerged in the aftermath of last Friday's events. Smotrich declared that shooting at Jews constituted 'a red line' that must not be crossed, stating unequivocally that it was forbidden to shoot at Jews. Settlers had initially claimed that a 14-year-old boy had been shot by Israeli soldiers, though it later emerged that the boy had been injured while throwing stones at soldiers in an entirely different location. Nevertheless, Smotrich chose to side with the Hilltop Youth's version of events. The attack on the military base the following day forced the finance minister to publicly condemn the settlers' actions, but the shared strategic interests between the two sides remain intact. The increased pace of attacks against Palestinians in recent times may stem from the Israeli finance minister's concern that the government will collapse or that he will not be a member of the next government. In most polls, Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party does not pass the electoral threshold. UK and allies sanction Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich over Gaza comments Read More » Smotrich is one of the most sophisticated and sharp politicians in Israel and has a developed historical consciousness. The aggressive expansion by armed settler militias across the West Bank is not simply a series of isolated attacks; it is part of Smotrich's broader effort to establish irreversible 'facts on the ground' in the event of a change in government. He may well be correct in his calculation. It is highly unlikely that any future Israeli government will move to dismantle shepherds' farms or outposts in the West Bank, and even less likely that it would act to restore displaced Palestinians to the lands from which they were expelled. Smotrich may also have in mind the contours of the Trump administration's Middle East plan, which he has publicly criticised. According to that plan, much of Area C would be annexed to Israel, while a fragmented Palestinian state would exist as disconnected enclaves throughout the West Bank. Smotrich's apparent aim is to ensure that these annexed areas are as devoid of Palestinians as possible, reducing the number of Palestinians who would have any claim to citizenship or full rights within the Israeli state. The ongoing war in Gaza is also shaping the thinking of settler militias, as well as bolstering Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The war has created a permissive environment that seems to embolden these actors to accelerate their agenda in the West Bank. Settler fantasy Settlers have long harboured the ambition of emptying the West Bank of its Palestinian population. For years, this aspiration was broadly understood, even among settlers themselves, as an unattainable fantasy. However, the near-total destruction of Gaza and the growing perception that the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip has, at least semi-explicitly, become one of the war aims of Prime Minister Netanyahu, have emboldened settler groups to believe that such a scenario might also be possible in the West Bank. Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in violent West Bank settler assault Read More » Ethnic cleansing in the West Bank would, however, present far greater logistical and political challenges than in Gaza. Unlike Gaza, the West Bank features a more intertwined population of Palestinians and settlers. Additionally, Jordan (positioned just across the border) would almost certainly respond with far less tolerance than Egypt in the event of any Israeli attempt to forcibly expel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into its territory. Nevertheless, some of the methods currently employed by the Israeli military in Gaza appear to be gradually making their way to the West Bank, albeit on a smaller scale. In recent months, large sections of the Tulkarm and Jenin refugee camps, along with other areas, have been bulldozed, and hundreds of homes have been demolished by Israeli forces. The images emerging from these sites increasingly resemble those coming out of Gaza. Even if the West Bank is not yet experiencing a full replication of the Gaza campaign, what is unfolding may well be seen as preparation for a more extensive effort by Smotrich and the settler militias to 'clear' key areas of Palestinians. A race between thugs Last Friday's attack on the Israeli army by settler militias marked a rare deviation from the unwritten rules that have long governed the relationship between settlers and the military in the West Bank. This breach prompted some criticism within Israel. However, such criticism is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the militias' operations or on the broader trajectory of settlement expansion and Palestinian displacement. Defence Minister Israel Katz, who recently revoked the use of administrative detention orders against Jewish settlers (thereby weakening the enforcement powers of the Shin Bet's Jewish Division) has now announced the formation of a new police unit tasked with addressing settler violence. Israel's Ben Gvir calls for aid to be bombed amid siege on Gaza Read More » According to Katz, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet will be involved in some capacity, but the unit will be led primarily by police officers. In practice, however, there is little doubt that the appointment of the unit's commander will require the approval of Ben Gvir, who oversees the police and is widely seen as an ally of the settler movement. As such, the creation of this unit appears less a genuine effort to curb settler violence and more a political manoeuvre to manage public perception. It is likely aimed at deflecting criticism rather than seriously addressing the ongoing attacks. Public assaults on Israeli soldiers are broadly unpopular within Israel, and even Israelis from the centre and centre right oppose settler violence against Palestinians. These factors pose a potential threat to the political project advanced by Smotrich and the settler militias. Yet despite these internal tensions, the project is unlikely to be fundamentally derailed. Smotrich and Ben Gvir, who serve as the settler movement's most prominent representatives within the Knesset, are now deeply embedded within the core of the Israeli government, making it difficult to envisage any scenario in which this agenda is meaningfully challenged from within. Still, as is often the case within violent movements of this nature, there may be more extreme elements who perceive Smotrich and Ben Gvir as too moderate or insufficiently committed to the cause. But this is ultimately a competition among factions driven by escalating radicalism. It is a race between thugs.
Euronews
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Israeli settlers set fire at military base in the West Bank
Dozens of Israeli settlers set fires, vandalised military vehicles, sprayed graffiti and attacked soldiers at a military base just north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday night, the military confirmed. Footage on Israeli media revealed the attackers consisted of a group of young, religious men, typically associated with "Hilltop Youth," an extremist movement of Israeli settlers that occupy West Bank hilltops and have been accused of attacking Palestinians and their property. In a response to the violence, the military had used stun grenades at dozens of the settlers. The military released photos showing infrastructure that had been burnt in the attack, which it said included "systems that help thwart terrorist attacks and maintain security." On Monday, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to "eradicate this violence from the root." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Sunday's attack, saying "no civilised country can tolerate violent and anarchic acts of burning a military facility, damaging IDF property and attacking security personnel by citizens of the country." Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also offered a condemnation, a rare move as he has often defended Israelis accused of similar crimes. "Attacking security forces, security facilities, and IDF soldiers who are our brothers, our protectors, is a red line, and must be dealt with in full severity. We are brothers," he wrote in a post on X. Ben-Gvir was previously convicted of racist incitement and support for terrorist groups, and has called for the deportation of Arab citizens from Israel. He was once widely shunned by Israel's politicians, but his influence, including among extremist settlers in the West Bank, has since grown along the country's shift to the right. Speaking on Israel's Army radio, opposition leader Yair Lapid labeled the aggressors of the attack as "Jewish terrorists, gangs of criminals, who feel backed by the (governing) coalition." It comes after a series of attacks in the West Bank by Israeli settlers over the past few days. On Wednesday, more than a hundred settlers entered the town of Kfar Malik, set fire to properties and shot at Palestinians who tried to stop them, the head of the local council, Najeb Rostom, said. Three Palestinians were killed after the military intervened, and five settlers were arrested. In response to Wednesday's violence, the deputy to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hussein al-Sheikh, wrote on X that "the settler violence and rampage, under the protection of the occupation army, is a political decision by the Israeli government, implemented by the settlers." "The Israeli government's behaviour and decisions are pushing the region toward an explosion," he added. Israel seized control of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem at the end of the Six-Day War in 1967, a conflict between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The West Bank is home to some 3 million Palestinians, who mostly live under Israeli military rule, and 500,000 Jewish settlers. The international community overwhelmingly considers West Bank settlements illegal.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Israeli settlers force about 150 Palestinians to leave their West Bank village
Violent Israeli settlers including two under UK sanctions have forced about 150 Palestinians to leave their village in the occupied West Bank, through a five-day intimidation campaign carried out under the watch of the Israeli police and army. On Sunday morning, settlers established an illegal outpost, consisting of a basic shelter and a sheep pen, 100 metres from a Palestinian home in Mughayyir al-Deir, east of Ramallah. By Friday, dozens of villagers had already moved their flocks away, packed up their belongings and were dismantling the wooden and metal frames of their houses. Settlers stalked between Palestinian men who worked fast and largely in silence, grappling with the grim reality of leaving the place where most were born and grew up. A child cried as he was driven away on a truck loaded with the family's red sofas. Related: Violent Israeli settlers under UK sanctions join illegal West Bank outpost 'We are all leaving,' said one villager, who asked not to be named. Settlers threw stones at some trucks as they left, and celebrated on social media. Elisha Yered, an unofficial spokesperson for the extremist group Hilltop Youth, wrote: 'This is what redemption looks like! This is a relatively large outpost that contained about 150 people from the enemy population, but it was broken.' Yered is subject to sanctions from the UK and the EU, which said he was 'part of a group of armed settlers' involved in an attack in 2023 that led to the death of a 19-year-old Palestinian, Qusai Jammal Mi'tan. Two other settlers under UK sanctions, Neria Ben Pazi and Zohar Sabah, spent time at the illegal outpost this week, and Ben Pazi also worked on building a fence around Palestinian land. Other Bedouin came to help villagers pack up and leave, including some who understood their fear and pain intimately because violent Israeli settlers had also driven them off the land. The tactics used by the settlers this week were not new. The nearby hills are dotted with the ruins of abandoned villages, at least one, Wadi as-Seeq, also targeted by the UK-sanctioned Ben Pazi. Settlers had never before built an outpost so close to Palestinian homes and the speed and intensity of the campaign in Mughayyir al-Deir was a sign of their growing confidence, activists said. Police patrolled through the village on Friday and Israeli soldiers stood nearby. None intervened, although a 'stop work' order had been issued for the illegal outpost after it was thrown up, and several settlers who spent time at it were also known to Israeli authorities for extreme violence. A previous Israeli commander for the central region, Maj Gen Yehuda Fuchs, tried in 2023 to bar Ben Pazi from the West Bank over violent attacks on Palestinians. The only other official Israeli visitor during the week was a far-right member of the Knesset, Zvi Sukkot, who came to back the settlers. Last week, Sukkot said in a TV debate that Israel 'can kill 100 Gazans in one night during a war and nobody in the world cares'. One Palestinian family filed a petition with Israel's supreme court on Thursday demanding an injunction and urgent hearing into why the military, police and local authorities did not act to prevent the forced evictions and protect Palestinians. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said troops operated 'to ensure the security of the state of Israel and Judea and Samaria [Israel's name for the occupied West Bank]', and the government directs how the military should enforce orders about illegal construction. The military would respond to the legal petition in court, the spokesperson said. A hearing is scheduled for next week, although by the time judges hear it the village will be empty. For many of the families forced out, their move on Friday was a second displacement at the hands of Israelis, as their parents and grandparents had been forced from land near the Israeli city of Be'er Sheva when the state was formed in 1948.
Arab News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli settlers force Palestinian families to leave village
LONDON: Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have forced about 150 Palestinians from their village through a violent five-day campaign carried out under the protection of Israeli authorities. Last weekend, the settler group had constructed an illegal outpost close to a Palestinian home in Mughayyir Al-Deir, east of Ramallah, The Guardian reported. The village is home to shepherds and farmers, and by Friday this week dozens of villagers had moved their flocks away and had gathered their belongings to leave the area. 'Settlers stalked between Palestinian men who worked fast and largely in silence, grappling with the grim reality of leaving the place where most were born and grew up,' The Guardian reported. 'A child cried as he was driven away on a truck loaded with the family's red sofas.' Israeli settlers belonging to the extremist group Hilltop Youth celebrated as Palestinian families left the village. The group's unofficial spokesperson, Elisha Yered, said: 'This is what redemption looks like! This is a relatively large outpost that contained about 150 people from the enemy population, but it was broken.' Several of the settlers involved in the illegal campaign, including Yered, are subject to UK and EU sanctions. Yered was 'part of a group of armed settlers' that carried out an attack in 2023 that killed Qusai Jammal Mi'tan, a 19-year-old Palestinian, sanctions files show. Neria Ben Pazi and Zohar Sabah, two Israeli settlers under British sanctions, visited the illegal outpost at Mughayyir Al-Deir this week. The hills surrounding the village are dotted with the ruins of other abandoned Palestinian homes, as settlers have waged a campaign to clear the area of locals. In Mughayyir Al-Deir, Israeli police and military personnel stood guard and patrolled as the settlers began to build the outpost. Zvi Sukkot, a far-right MP who said on TV last week that Israel 'can kill 100 Gazans in one night during a war and nobody in the world cares,' visited the village to support the settlers. A Palestinian family from Mughayyir Al-Deir filed a petition in Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday. They demanded an injunction and urgent hearing on the settler campaign, and asked why Israeli authorities had failed to intervene over the illegal outpost and evictions. Many of the Palestinian families forced to leave the village had relatives who were forced to leave Beersheba during the Nakba in 1948, when some 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homeland. An Israeli military spokesperson said troops worked 'to ensure the security of the state of Israel and Judea and Samaria (Israel's name for the occupied West Bank).' The military will respond to the Palestinian family's petition in court, the spokesperson said. A hearing is scheduled for next week, but all Palestinian families will have left Mughayyir Al-Deir by then.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israeli settlers force about 150 Palestinians to leave their West Bank village
Violent Israeli settlers including two under UK sanctions have forced about 150 Palestinians to leave their village in the occupied West Bank, through a five-day intimidation campaign carried out under the watch of the Israeli police and army. On Sunday morning, settlers established an illegal outpost, consisting of a basic shelter and a sheep pen, 100 metres from a Palestinian home in Mughayyir al-Deir, east of Ramallah. By Friday, dozens of villagers had already moved their flocks away, packed up their belongings and were dismantling the wooden and metal frames of their houses. Settlers stalked between Palestinian men who worked fast and largely in silence, grappling with the grim reality of leaving the place where most were born and grew up. A child cried as he was driven away on a truck loaded with the family's red sofas. 'We are all leaving,' said one villager, who asked not to be named. Settlers threw stones at some trucks as they left, and celebrated on social media. Elisha Yered, an unofficial spokesperson for the extremist group Hilltop Youth, wrote: 'This is what redemption looks like! This is a relatively large outpost that contained about 150 people from the enemy population, but it was broken.' Yered is subject to sanctions from the UK and the EU, which said he was 'part of a group of armed settlers' involved in an attack in 2023 that led to the death of a 19-year-old Palestinian, Qusai Jammal Mi'tan. Two other settlers under UK sanctions, Neria Ben Pazi and Zohar Sabah, spent time at the illegal outpost this week, and Ben Pazi also worked on building a fence around Palestinian land. Other Bedouin came to help villagers pack up and leave, including some who understood their fear and pain intimately because violent Israeli settlers had also driven them off the land. The tactics used by the settlers this week were not new. The nearby hills are dotted with the ruins of abandoned villages, at least one, Wadi as-Seeq, also targeted by the UK-sanctioned Ben Pazi. Settlers had never before built an outpost so close to Palestinian homes and the speed and intensity of the campaign in Mughayyir al-Deir was a sign of their growing confidence, activists said. Police patrolled through the village on Friday and Israeli soldiers stood nearby. None intervened, although a 'stop work' order had been issued for the illegal outpost after it was thrown up, and several settlers who spent time at it were also known to Israeli authorities for extreme violence. A previous Israeli commander for the central region, Maj Gen Yehuda Fuchs, tried in 2023 to bar Ben Pazi from the West Bank over violent attacks on Palestinians. The only other official Israeli visitor during the week was a far-right member of the Knesset, Zvi Sukkot, who came to back the settlers. Last week, Sukkot said in a TV debate that Israel 'can kill 100 Gazans in one night during a war and nobody in the world cares'. One Palestinian family filed a petition with Israel's supreme court on Thursday demanding an injunction and urgent hearing into why the military, police and local authorities did not act to prevent the forced evictions and protect Palestinians. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said troops operated 'to ensure the security of the state of Israel and Judea and Samaria [Israel's name for the occupied West Bank]', and the government directs how the military should enforce orders about illegal construction. The military would respond to the legal petition in court, the spokesperson said. A hearing is scheduled for next week, although by the time judges hear it the village will be empty. For many of the families forced out, their move on Friday was a second displacement at the hands of Israelis, as their parents and grandparents had been forced from land near the Israeli city of Be'er Sheva when the state was formed in 1948.
