Under Army Protection.. 'Hilltop Youth' Gangs Claim Dozens of Bloody Attacks in the West Bank

A radical settler movement calling itself 'Hilltop Youth' has claimed full responsibility for carrying out a series of violent attacks against Palestinian citizens across the occupied West Bank. In a statement published on its digital platforms, the movement described these assaults as a 'struggle record,' confirming the involvement of its members in dozens of crimes targeting Palestinian property and lives under security and military cover.

The list published by the movement on Wednesday evening documented over 60 attacks in just one month, affecting 33 Palestinian villages in various areas. These assaults were heavily concentrated in the town of Mukhamas, near Ramallah, where the area was subjected to five consecutive attacks, leading to the intimidation of local residents and forcing neighboring Bedouin communities to forcibly relocate to escape settler brutality.

In a related context, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death of a 19-year-old man, who succumbed to critical injuries sustained after settlers shot him in the town of Mukhamas. This incident underscores the brutality of the attacks carried out by these gangs, which have now resorted to using live ammunition directly against unarmed civilians amid a complete silence from the occupation authorities.

According to the report published by the settler movement, their attacks resulted in the burning of 12 inhabited homes and setting fire to 29 Palestinian vehicles, in addition to injuring approximately 40 citizens with varying degrees of wounds. The movement also boasted about smashing hundreds of vehicle windows and uprooting hundreds of ancient olive trees, in an attempt to undermine the economic resilience of Palestinians on their land.

'Hilltop Youth' attacks were not limited to Palestinians but also extended to threatening officials in settlements, soldiers, and officers whom the movement considers 'moderate' or not firm enough in implementing settlement plans. This internal rebellion reflects the extent of radicalism within these groups, which have begun to impose their own agenda by force of arms and intimidation on all parties on the ground.

For its part, the 'Peace Now' organization confirmed in recent reports that settlers systematically infiltrate Palestinian agricultural lands and prevent their owners from accessing them. The organization indicated that these practices are carried out with direct and clear support from the Israeli government and army, who provide protection to settlers during their attacks and offer them the necessary legal cover to evade punishment.

Since the beginning of 2025, the West Bank has witnessed an unprecedented pace of settlement expansion, with the far-right government approving the construction of 54 new settlements, a record number reflecting the desire to decisively resolve the conflict on the ground. These expansions coincide with extensive land registration and ownership regularization operations, a first of its kind since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, paving the way for a comprehensive annexation process.

In the context of international reactions, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Rosemary DiCarlo, warned of the danger of unilateral Israeli moves aimed at changing the demographic and geographical reality in the West Bank. DiCarlo stated during a Security Council meeting that the world is now witnessing a de facto annexation process taking place silently, where any opportunity for the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state is being undermined through the planting of settlement outposts.

Despite calls from some rabbis in northern West Bank settlements for restraint and adherence to authorities' instructions, the reality on the ground proves that these calls do not resonate with radical youth groups. The settler movement now views violence as a legitimate means to achieve its political goals, exploiting the current government composition which includes ministers who openly support these extremist tendencies.

It is worth noting that the West Bank is home to approximately three million Palestinians who daily face attacks from over half a million settlers spread across illegal settlements under international law. This cycle of violence continues in the absence of any political horizon, and with the occupation's insistence on accelerating the pace of land seizure and destruction of Palestinian property to impose a new reality that will be difficult to reverse in the future.

We are witnessing a gradual de facto annexation of the West Bank, where unilateral Israeli steps are steadily changing the situation on the ground.