Who is behind settler violence in the occupied West Bank?

These groups are driven by hard-line religious and nationalist ideology that advocates the expansion of settlements, the expulsion of Palestinians, and the assertion of dominance over what they call “Judea and Samaria”, referring to the West Bank. Despite differences in their structure and methods of operation, they share the goal of entrenching settler presence, forcing Palestinians from their land, and thwarting any political process that could curb the growth of settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. A number of their leaders are linked to networks of rabbis and right-wing activists who serve as their ideological and religious authorities. Some settlements and outposts have also become bases from which attacks against Palestinians are launched. These groups do not operate independently of settlement expansion. Rather, they benefit from a political, legal and on-the-ground environment that strengthens their presence, reflected in the growing number of settlement outposts and plans aimed at expanding settlements. Below, Al Jazeera highlights the main settler groups driving the escalation in the West Bank, along with information about their leaders, ideological and religious influences, areas of activity, and the major attacks and crimes attributed to them.

Hilltop Youth The Hilltop Youth is among the most prominent violent settler groups active in the West Bank. It is a decentralised network made up mostly of Jewish youths aged between 15 and 20 who live in settlement outposts and pastoral farms scattered across hilltops. Some of the group’s members have been expelled from educational institutions, while others come from well-known religious families, including those of rabbis and settler leaders. The group’s emergence is politically linked to a speech delivered by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon – and then foreign minister – on November 16, 1998, in which he urged settlers to “seize the hilltops” and expand their control over the land, in what was widely viewed at the time as an attempt to undermine the peace process and the implementation of the Wye River Agreement.