28/1/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated that the semi-military settler militias, which carry out dozens of daily attacks against Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, have in practice become an arm of the Israeli army, and that the two parties — “settlers and soldiers” — now perform complementary roles in tightening pressure on Palestinians.
The foundation pointed out that previous Israeli governments used to pursue, arrest, and sometimes prosecute settlers who committed criminal acts against Palestinians, whereas today, under the current extremist government, these settlers have become an integral part of the Israeli army and receive all forms of official support and protection.
The foundation stated that the new Zionist mentality and the emerging Israeli ideology, which has begun to take shape and become entrenched especially after the events of October 7, 2023, now views settlers as the first line of defense for Israelis in the areas occupied in 1948. It has come to believe that attacks on Palestinians must continue with the aim of displacing them and creating buffer zones between settlements and Palestinian villages and towns.
It added: “Since the end of 2023, the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, has adopted a policy based on arming settlers in the West Bank, granting them firearms that have exceeded 170,000 weapons, in addition to issuing gun-carrying licenses to another 400,000 individuals.”
Recently, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich appeared in video clips distributing off-road vehicles (“Traktoron”) to settlers in pastoral settlements, describing them as the “protective wall of Israel.”
A few days ago, the occupation authorities decided to ease restrictions imposed on an extremist settler responsible for killing the Dawabsheh family from the town of Duma south of Nablus in 2015, allowing him to be with his wife, amid calls by settlers for his release.
Settlers… Military Groups
Over the past years, settlers have announced the formation of military groups whose primary mission is to attack Palestinians, burn their property, and harass them, with the aim of displacing them and seizing their land. Among the most prominent of these formations are the “Hilltop Youth” and the “Price Tag” group.
Settlers belonging to these groups publish video clips showing them receiving military training in the use of weapons, in addition to harsh physical exercises similar to those undergone by regular soldiers.
The Union for Justice Foundation explained that settler militias have begun carrying out missions that were previously exclusive to the Israeli army, and that these missions are sometimes carried out jointly by settlers and occupation soldiers.
Settlers… Arrests and Home Demolitions
Since the beginning of the current month, the foundation has documented several violations against Palestinians carried out by settlers jointly with the Israeli army, as well as other violations that were previously exclusive to the Israeli army.
On the twelfth of the current month, armed settlers from a recently established outpost on citizens’ lands in Khirbet Deir Razeh south of Hebron detained three citizens while they were grazing sheep, before occupation forces stormed the area, arrested them, and took them to an unknown location.
On the same day, occupation soldiers accompanied by a group of settlers stormed the village of Al-Rashayda east of Bethlehem, assaulted farmers, and attempted to seize their sheep. Occupation soldiers and settlers also raided several sheep pens, searched them, and arrested the brothers Thaer and Wadi‘ Ahmad Rashayda.
On the twenty-second of the current month, Israeli occupation forces and a group of settlers wearing Israeli army uniforms detained two young men and assaulted them south of Hebron after forcing them to strip off their clothes.
In addition to arresting and detaining Palestinians, raiding Palestinian villages and towns, and conducting searches, settler militias have begun carrying out demolition operations against Palestinian structures in areas classified as (C), a task that was previously exclusive to official occupation authorities.
On the sixth of last November, settlers demolished with bulldozers four barracks (“mobile homes”) belonging to citizens in the Al-Hathroura Bedouin community east of occupied Jerusalem.
On the twenty-eighth of last November, settlers from the “Susiya” settlement demolished, using manual tools, a house under construction made of bricks in Khirbet Wadi Al-Rakhim in the town of Yatta south of Hebron.
On the first of the current month, settlers demolished two agricultural structures (“barracks”) and stole their contents in the area of Khallat ‘Awad near Khirbet Al-Tawil in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron.
The Union for Justice Foundation believes that the occupation government seeks to expand the powers granted to settlers spread across more than 178 settlements established on citizens’ lands in the West Bank, so that every Palestinian town and village — especially those located in areas (C) — becomes administratively subordinate to the nearest settlement, which would effectively mean eliminating the idea of a Palestinian state.
The Union for Justice affirms that all claims published in Hebrew media about the existence of disputes between the Israeli army leadership and settler leaders due to repeated attacks on Palestinians are unfounded and contradicted by reality.
End
