Young settler militants intensify violent raids on West Bank villages

On Tuesday, over a hundred Israeli settlers stormed the West Bank village of Jalud, injuring three members of the Israeli security forces who were accompanying a Palestinian family returning after previous settler attacks. The raid is linked to the Hilltop Youth, a loosely connected group of young, often off-grid settlers who pursue a religious-nationalist agenda of creating unauthorised outposts on hilltops to increase Jewish control of Palestinian land.

A WhatsApp post attributed to the movement reported hundreds of attacks in more than a hundred villages, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian injuries and numerous vehicle burnings. Experts note that prosecutions for such violence are uncommon, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterised the perpetrators as a handful of juvenile delinquents, accusing the international community of overlooking Palestinian violence. The rise of this new generation follows the 2005 disengagement, with increased support from political figures like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and funding for infrastructure that bolsters illegal outposts.