Hilltop Youth

Hilltop Youth
נוער הגבעות
LeaderMeir Ettinger
Dates of operation1990s-Present
Ideology
Major actionsDuma arson attack
StatusActive

Hilltop Youth (Hebrew: נוער הגבעות, No'ar HaGva'ot) are extremist Religious Zionist settler youth operating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They are known for establishing outposts without an Israeli legal basis and conducting settler violence against Palestinians there.[1][2][3]

The movement is based on the ideology of Kahanism, which advocates for the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from both Israel and the occupied territories. It started in 1998 to head to a call by then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon who settler youth to "grab the hilltops" of the West Bank. Members linked to the group have engaged in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, as well as against Israeli soldiers.[4]

Hilltop Youth attack an elementary school in Mu'arrajat, near Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 2024

The acts of settler violence includes vandalism of Palestinian schools and mosques, stealing sheep from Palestinian flocks and the destruction of their centuries-old olive groves, or stealing their olive harvests.[1] In the most notable attack, members of the groups perpetrated the 2015 Duma arson attack against a Palestinian family, burning their 18-month-old baby alive and injuring the parents.[5] Though the group has no strict hierarchy Israeli authorities believe Meir Ettinger to be its leader.

In 2024, following rising settler attacks, the European Union put Hilltop Youth as well as the related Lehava groups on its asset freeze and visa bans, declaring them to be extremist organizations.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Byman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Erica Chernofsky (18 August 2009). "Hilltop Youth push to settle West Bank". BBC. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  3. ^ 'Ex-Shin Bet chief: Government does not want to deal with Jewish terror,' Ynet 8 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Israeli minor gets 3 1/2 years for role in deadly 2015 arson". AP News. 16 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Thou Shalt Not Kill: Israel's Hilltop Youth". Al Jazeera.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference tg1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).