Hilltop Youth | |
---|---|
נוער הגבעות | |
Leader | Meir Ettinger |
Dates of operation | 1990s-Present |
Ideology | |
Major actions | Duma arson attack |
Status | Active |
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]
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]
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