Netanyahu Lies as Palestinians Remain Unprotected from Violence by Settlement Outpost Terrorists

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that last week, numerous media outlets and social media platforms, citing Israel s Ch. 12 that PM Netanyahu had ordered the evacuation of 14 settlement outposts in the West Bank, the strengthening of the ‘Jewish Division’ within the Shin Bet, and the eviction of about 70 settlers, who had taken refuge in those farms and outposts, and subsequently began carrying out attacks against Palestinians.
The news was striking, especially as Netanyahu isn’t known as he opposes the establishment of outposts and pastoral farms, which house around a thousand settlers from the ‘Hilltop Youth Movement’ of whom 300 are classified as part of the ‘circle of violence’ involved in attacks against both Palestinians and the Israeli army, where the move was presented as a concession to American and international pressure.
Though, Israeli political and security sources indicated that the true objective of Netanyahu s instructions, according to Ch. 12 military correspondent Nir Dvori was ‘the internal legal process for prosecuting settlers, who attack Israeli soldiers, not the protection of Palestinians.’ The channel itself didn’t forget to add, quoting a political source, that he said, ‘The PM isn’t at all concerned with clearing outposts, but rather with dealing with a group of young people who attack the army and don’t belong to the settlement and nor represent it, and any other claim is false.’
In fact, Israeli PM Netanyahu said on Nov. 18 that he would hold an emergency government meeting to ensure that ‘Israelis behind the riots in the occupied West Bank are held accountable,’ after media outlets quoted officials as saying that settlers have burned homes and vehicles in the Palestinian town of Jaba’a, near Bethlehem, in acts of violence in response to the army dismantling an outpost nearby and clashed with army and police forces, adding that he was ‘following with great concern the violent disturbances and the attempt by a small, extremist group to take the law into their own hands.’
The Ch. 12’s report showed that PM Netanyahu has no intention of dismantling those settlement outposts´-or-taking action against the number of settlers, who perpetrate violence and terrorism against Palestinians. This is also evident from an official document prepared by the Israeli National Security Council, which states that Netanyahu fully supports the establishment and expansion of settlement outposts and pastoral farms in the occupied West Bank, considering them a response to Palestinian activities in the area, as reported by Yediot Aharonot this December. Noting the document was titled, ‘Summary of the PM s Deliberations on Educational Tools against Hilltop Youth’s Violence in Judea and Samaria.’
The newspaper cited sources, who participated in the deliberations as saying that Netanyahu instructed officials to expedite the process of granting legal status to unauthorized settlement outposts. The Israeli government is carrying out a process of ‘regularizing the outposts in the form of individual farms, with the understanding that it is preserving the territories.’ Moreover, the newspaper added, Netanyahu also intends to legalize approximately 100 settler farms and recognize those located in strategic areas of the West Bank.
Noting that there are about 256 settlement outposts and farms, including 136 pastoral farms, in Area C of the West Bank, and to formalize those outposts and provide for their growth and expansion, they formed what is known as the ‘Farmers -union-’, which operates alongside a lobby to secure government budgets in conjunction with the Settlement Council.
According to Haaretz, since the beginning of Netanyahu s current government, FM Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Ministry of Army and is responsible for the ‘Civil Administration’, and Settlement Minister Orit Strock, ‘with the full approval of Benjamin Netanyahu have worked to increase budgets to support those outposts and farms to an unprecedented degree, allocating tens of millions of shekels to them in the last 3 years through coalition parties in the state budget.’
The newspaper also reported that senior leaders of the ‘Hilltop Youth’ groups, ‘the code name for Jewish terrorist organizations’ decided to run in the Likud Party primaries on a West Bank-based list. It added that among the candidates on the list is the extremist terrorist settler ‘Elisha Yered’ suspected of killing the young man ‘Qosai Ma tan’ from the Burqa village, Ramallah, 2 years ago.
Consequently, it is clear that this government’s policy hasn’t changed, neither regarding the dismantling of settlement outposts nor putting an end to settler violence against Palestinian citizens. Outposts and terrorist farms continue to proliferate in the West Bank countryside, and settler crimes are steadily escalating. Every now and then, a Palestinian citizen wakes up to news of settlers establishing an outpost here and a terrorist pastoral farm there.
In reality, the occupation army itself participates in this process, which is devastating to the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank countryside. Settler terrorism and their criminal acts are carried out under the watchful eye of the occupation forces and with the encouragement of Ben-Gvir s police and the fascist militias affiliated with his ministry. This is confirmed by data from Palestinian sources ‘the Colonization and Wall Resistence Commission’, the ‘National Bureau for Defending the Land’, and Israeli sources (Peace Now, B Tselem, and others, and international sources, such as, OCHA.
Netanyahu knows that settler violence has been steadily escalating since the start of the brutal war on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 8, 2003, and he downplays the increase by attributing it to a fringe element within the settler community. OCHA stated in its latest report that Oct. 2005 saw the highest level of settler violence since records began in 2006, with 264 attacks resulting in casualties´-or-property damage that month. It adds that the violence has not abated despite the ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10 in Gaza, and that the number of Palestinians injured in attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank rose to 733 in 2025, double the number from the previous year.
Data also indicated that the number of Palestinians injured by settler violence in the occupied West Bank has increased by nearly 340% over the past 5 years i.e. ‘168 Palestinians were injured in 2021, 289 in 2022, 373 in 2023’ the year the offensive on the Gaza Strip began’, and 362 in 2024, in attacks and incursions by settlers into Palestinian villages and lands’.
According to OCHA, settlers have carried out more than 1,600 attacks since the beginning of the year, targeting more than 270 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, particularly in the governorates of Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron, and that 1,057 Palestinians have been injured. The attacks, which caused loss of life and property, resulted in ‘733 Palestinians being -dir-ectly targeted by settlers, while another 324 were wounded by Israeli army gunfire during these attacks’.
To highlight the seriousness of the situation, about 600 former senior commanders in the Israeli security services, members of the ‘Commanders for Israel s Security’ movement, sent a strong worded letter to Israeli Army Minister, Yisrael Katz, warning of the escalating Jewish terrorism and settler violence in the West Bank.
They emphasized the continued government inaction in dealing with this phenomenon could lead to chaos and a widespread security explosion. According to Israel s Channel 13, the letter, sent last Monday, called on Katz to take immediate action to halt the violence, -restore- the rule of law, and prevent a deterioration that would harm national security, social cohesion, and Israel s regional and international status.
As for the terror perpetrated by the settlers that emanates from those settlement outposts and pastoral farms, there is nothing to rely on in the occupying state. The stance of the extreme right-wing government parties is clear, while some opposition parties align themselves with the government, and others try to distinguish themselves superficially rather than substantively.
All the parties in both the government and the opposition take the same stance regarding the attacks of the terrorists on the occupation army and police-;- here, everyone draws a red line regarding the behavior of the terror. However, when it comes to attacks on the lives of Palestinian citizens, their property, farms, and lands, stances differ superficially not substantively. In the opposition, the attacks, according to Lapid, Golan, and even Lieberman, become a disgrace to the State because they deface its image in International Public Opinion.
It is the same stance that corrupts the Israeli society, where the focus here is on the image of the State and the Jewish society – stances that lack moral and humanitarian dimensions, given that attacks on Palestinians are unacceptable and condemned in principle, but a red line when the confrontation took place between the terrorists, and the occupation army and police.
On another level, the Security Cabinet approved at the end of the week the construction and planning of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, including the settlements of Ganim and Kedem, which were evacuated from the northern West Bank in 2005. The Higher Settlement Planning Council of the Civil Administration of the occupation has approved its agenda last Wednesday, which includes a new settlement expansion plan to build 764 settlement units in several West Bank settlements, as follows: 478 in the Hashmonaim settlement, 230 in the Beitar Illit settlement, and 56 in the Givat Ze ev settlement.
The Israeli Yediot Aharonot Newspaper revealed in Monday’s edition that Smotrich announced the allocation of NIS 2.7 billion for the establishment of 17 new settlements in the West Bank over the next 5 years of which NIS 1.1 billion allocated for strengthening existing settlements, about NIS 660 million will be allocated to the 17 new settlements recently approved by the government, including Ma alot Halhul, Sha anor, and Har Ebal, and about NIS 338 million to 36 settlements and outposts currently under planning.
The funding covers the construction of basic infrastructure such as water, sewage, and electricity, as well as public buildings like synagogues, religious schools, and community centers in addition to ‘absorption warehouses’ will be built in the new settlements, including caravans designated for families to live in and to allow for future expansion. The government also allocated NIS 300 million to all new settlements, including NIS 160 million as an ‘establishment grant’ and NIS 140 million for planning and operational purposes.
For existing settlements, NIS 434 million will be distributed based on population size to rehabilitate their infrastructure with an additional NIS 300 million allocated to settlement councils and local authorities in the West Bank to support local services and projects, and an additional NIS 140 million be allocated for roadblocks, with a focus on meeting military needs in the West Bank.
A budget of NIS 150 million be allocated for bus protection over the next 3 years, at a rate of NIS 50 million annually, compared to the previous budget of only about NIS 36 million. Smotrich and the Yesha Council, stands behind the budget, which has become an influential force in Israeli politics under Netanyahu s Government including its -dir-ector-General, Omer Rahamim, were seen at the Ministry of Finance in the days pre the budget s approval.
The Army Minister Katz also expected to allocate millions of shekels from his ministry s budget to bolster security in new settlements, including smart fences, equipment stations, cameras, and other security measures. Under the government plan, NIS 225 million will be allocated to establish a ‘land registry unit’ beyond the Green Line, benefiting half a million settlers in the West Bank.
Recently, all properties in the West Bank were registered with the Civil Administration ‘the Jordanian land registry, Taboo) and not the Israeli one. In a related move, the government plans to relocate three Israeli army bases to the northern West Bank, reflecting a long-term strategy to strengthen settlement infrastructure and consolidate control over newly acquired areas. The move comes after Israel has evacuated its military bases in the area under the Oslo Accords, with the aim of reducing its control over Palestinian territory.
According to the Israeli Yediot Aharonot Newspaper, Israel aims to strengthen its grip on the northern West Bank by relocating military bases to the ‘Shanur settlement’ aeea, which was previously evacuated under the 2005 Disengagement Law and to which settlers intend to return before the Knesset elections. Under the plan, the ‘Menashe Brigade Headquarter will be moved from the ‘Ein Shemer’ Camp to the ‘Shanur settlement’ area.

List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Preventing shepherds in the Bedouin Community of Al-Hathroura near Khan Al-Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalemfrom accessing grazing areas.
- Grazing livestock and cattle in the Al-Duweir area, east of the Mikhmas town. Demolished a shed and a park, bulldozed a playground and agricultural land in the town, and uprooted a number of trees. Settlers also attacked citizens lands and released their cattle into their farms in the Wadi Baradiya area and attacked citizens homes in the area.
- Demolishing a commercial establishment - a car wash and auto accessories shop - to make way for the expansion of a settler road. They also demolished a two-story building under construction in the Wadi al-Hummus area, southeast of Jerusalem. Moreover, they issued demolition orders for 4 houses east of the city in the Bir-Maskub 1, Bir al-Maskub 2, and Wadi Asnisel communities.
Hebron:
- Demolishing 3 inhabited houses in Khirbet Khallat Farra, a village west of Yatta. The houses belonged to Ra’fat, Thaer, and Issa Harb.
- Setting fire to a vehicle and a tractor in the Wadi-Rakhim area of Masafer Yatta before residents were able to extinguish it. They also demolished 3 houses, a hall, a guest house, and a cave belonging to the Rashid family.
- Storming the Wadi al-Awar area in the Birin village south of Yatta, threatening and intimidating residents and engaging in provocative acts around their homes. They threatened to forcibly displace them from the area.
- Injuring 7 Palestinians by armed settlers, attacked a group of farmers with stones, clubs, and tear gas as they attempted to reach their land in the Wardan area between the Halhul and Beit Umar towns.
- Preventing farmers from cultivating their lands and grazing their livestock in the village of Al-Zaydin in the Yatta desert, erected a tent on citizens lands in Khallat Al-Natsh in the Jabal Jawhar Neighborhood.
- Attacking citizens homes and properties before occupation forces stormed the Hamroush area near the town of Sa ir, to secure the attack.
- Demolishing a wood and building materials factory in the Al-Mikhd area in the town of Beit Ula, and issued demolition orders for 3 other factories under the pretext of building in Area C.
Bethlehem:
- Kidnapping a farmer in the Nahalin town after assaulting him in the Banias Mountains area.
- Issuing demolition orders for 10 residential and agricultural structures near the Arab al-Jahalin Community and for the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees from the lands of Tuqu town, along the main road from the western entrance to the Halqum area and Marah Rabah to the south.
- Plowing and planting grain on farmland in the Sababa area, near Palestinian homes in the Kisan village.
Ramallah:
- Uprooting 100 olive trees in the plain of Turmusaiya town, causing -dir-ect losses for farmers and impacting their agricultural lands.
- Demolishing residential and agricultural structures in the village of Shuqba. They also demolished 2 houses and an agricultural shed belonging to brothers Nidal and Ahmed Mahmoud Abdel-Khaleq in the village of Budrus.
- Attacking Palestinian vehicles with stones on the bridge near the Atara town, preventing them from passing and blocking the road connecting the town to Ramallah.
- Injuring an elderly woman, her grandson, and 2 international solidarity activists in the Al-Mughayyir village when settlers attacked the family of Rizq Abu Naim. The settlers assaulted his wife, breaking her arm, and struck his grandson on the head. They also attacked the international activists with sticks and stones.
- Erecting caravans on Palestinian-owned land between the towns of Burqa and Deir Dibwan in an attempt to expand the Ramat Migron settlement.
- Injuring the youth Awais Hamam Al-Lou, 18 from the village of Beitillu, as a result of an attack by settlers after he was kidnapped in the Bab Al-Taqah area in Jabal Al-Risan, west of the village.
Nablus:
- Bulldozing work carried out by settlers in the western area of Qaryut village continued, affecting a large area of the village’s land planted with olive trees. The occupation bulldozers protected by the occupation army and the security official of the Eli settlement destroyed hundreds of trees. Activist Bashar Qaryoti reported that the area affected by the bulldozing and destruction is estimated at 100 dunams so far, and that more than 800 olive and almond trees have been uprooted. He stated that this bulldozing and destruction is intended to facilitate the construction of a wall separating the village from the Eli settlement, adding that if the wall is built, it will effectively split the village from its agricultural lands in the western area, which are estimated at thousands of dunams.
- Fixing caravan in the outpost established on Mount Qarqafa, located between the towns of Aqraba and Jurish. Meanwhile, settler bulldozers razed land in Asira al-Qibliya in the southern part of the village, as well as on Palestinian-owned land in Area B, with the aim of paving roads and expanding the new pastoral outpost.
Jordan Valley:
- Erecting tents and continued plowing agricultural land at a new site east of the Tayasir Checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley, after having previously fenced off the surrounding area and planted rain-fed crops.
- Issuing demolition orders for agricultural structures in the Ras-Ahmar area southeast of Tubas, affecting several families in the region.
- Assaulting Palestinians working on their farmland, and others destroyed water pipelines in Khirbet al-Deir in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Expelling farmers and prevented them from plowing their land in the Bziq area of the northern Jordan Valley.

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