Settlement Institutions Dominate Education System in Occupation Army and Settler Militias

A Haaretz report from 18 Oct. 2026 reveals a shift in organizations that the Occupation Army engages to educate its soldiers and officers. The report highlights a sharp increase between 2021 – 2025 in the activities of the organizations linked to the Israeli right wing, settlement, and Jewish heritage, contrasted with a decline in the use of organizations focused on democracy and human rights. According to the report, the number of activities requested by the army from Beit Sefer Sde Kfar Etzion, an educational and tourism institution that supports settlement rose from 32 to 227 over the period.
Meanwhile, activities organized by the Derekh Avot Association, a religious and settlement organization operating primarily in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and surrounding areas, jumped from just 3 to 356, an increase of more than a hundredfold. The data also showed a significant increase in activities requested by the army from the Israel from Within Institute, which organizes tours in the occupied West Bank and is led by a former activist in the Religious Zionism Party. The number rose from zero in 2022 to 742 in 2025, highlighting the growing influence of right-wing and settlement-oriented institutions in Israeli military education programs.
By contrast, the data show a sharp decline in the Israeli Occupation Army’s engagement with certain institutions concerned with democracy and human rights. The number of activities organized by the army in cooperation with the Yitzhak Rabin Center rose from 24 in 2021 to 90 in 2023, before falling to 56 in 2024 and rising again to 63 in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of activities requested by the army from the Center for Human Dignity declined from 27 in 2021 to just 1in 2025. The Israel Democracy Institute, meanwhile, recorded no activities at all during 2025.
Within the context, many studies have pointed to an increasing shift toward the right and a growing politicization within the Israeli military establishment, a trend that has become particularly pronounced following the formation of Netanyahu’s government, which includes Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. Over the past few years, the Israeli military has seen a steady rise in the number of officers and soldiers drawn from the ‘Religious Zionist’ and settler movements.
This shift has coincided with a relative decline in the motivation for military service among the traditional secular elites, who historically dominated the upper echelons of command thereby increasing the influence of right-wing religious ideology within field combat units and the officer corps. This transformation has manifested in tensions, which have occasionally surfaced publicly between the General Staff and senior military commanders on one side, and ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich on the other, regarding the management of the situation in the West Bank and the approach toward settler violence.
The settlement institutions’ role in military training and indoctrination extends beyond regular army units to a broader range of military and paramilitary formations, including the Hagmar ‘regional defence’ units, an established component of the Israeli military, these units have undergone significant changes in their role. As regular Israeli occupation army battalions were redeployed from the West Bank to participate in operations in the Gaza Strip and other fronts, the army rapidly expanded the recruitment and formation of Hagmar units in West Bank settlements.
Thousands of settlers were armed with assault rifles and provided with military uniforms and state-funded salaries, effectively turning them into local reserve forces. According to international media investigations, including reports by the British newspaper ‘The Guardian,’ and testimonies from UN organizations, the Hagmar units composed entirely of settlers, have evolved into something resembling armed civilian militias.
Besides ‘Hagmar,’ there are ‘preparedness teams’ in the settlements, which witnessed an unprecedented arms boom that turned it into one of the most prominent tools for imposing control and settlement in the West Bank, since Oct. 2023, the Israeli Ministry of National Security, led by Ben Gvir has adopted an emergency plan to arm, expand, and rehabilitate these teams with extremist right-wing ideology. Hundreds of millions of shekels have been allocated to purchase tens of thousands of assault rifles, millions of bullets, protective vests, and advanced equipment.
Hundreds of new rapid response teams have been established in settlements and border areas after large numbers of activists from extremist settler entities, such as the ‘Hills Youth group’ became involved, and ‘Paying the price’ in these teams. Their wearing military uniforms and carrying official weapons blurred the boundaries between the settler and the official security man. Members of these teams participate -dir-ectly in daily attacks, burning crops, and sabotaging and uprooting olive trees. This military force, which is an armed militia, is exploited to intimidate Palestinian herding and Bedouin communities in Area C to force them to leave their lands.
These ‘preparedness teams’ are part of a broader political vision of the Israeli extreme right and have become a source of boasting for Ben Gvir in his press statements. The role of these teams complements the decisions of the political level, such as the decisions of Army Minister Yisrael Katz, to transfer security powers and dealing with settlers from the army to the police aiming to integrate the settlers and their security teams -dir-ectly into the civil state institutions, which strengthens the imposition of Israeli sovereignty and the effective annexation of the West Bank.
For now, the practice of planting Israeli flags along roads in rural areas of the West Bank has become increasingly widespread. It began about a year ago along St. 60, stretching from the Za’atara Junction, south of Nablus, to the Oion Haramiya Junction in the Ramallah-Bireh Governorate. The flags are being erected by settlers, settlement councils, and extremist settler groups, including Hilltop Youth and the Nachala Movement, with -dir-ect encouragement and support from senior figures in the Israeli occupation government. Ben-Gvir’s militia units, known as alert squads, and Hagmar units have also played an active role in the campaign.
Eventually, the practice has spread across most of the West Bank’s roads and highways, reaching the outskirts of Palestinian towns and villages, where checkpoints, gates, and earth barriers have also been installed. The phenomenon has intensified ahead of this year’s olive harvest season as part of an effort to impose a visual presence and assert control over the landscape. The campaign has been accompanied by increased restrictions on Palestinian residents and businesses. In a recent incident in the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, south of Nablus, scores of Israeli flags were erected outside the home and shop of Palestinian resident Moaiad Hussein, under the protection of the Israeli army, alert squads, Hagmar units, and the Israeli police ‘Shai’ in the West Bank.
The Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya town is not a unique case, as there are similar cases repeated in several areas in the West Bank, where the phenomenon of massively erecting Israeli flags has turned into a means of imposing control and exploiting it as a tool to restrict Palestinian citizens and commercial establishments. The main streets and shops in the Huwwara town witnessed repeated waves of settlers erecting Israeli flags on lighting poles and shop fronts to block them and pursue their customers, and this was accompanied by forcing shop owners to close. The Tira Neighborhood was not spared from these strange practices, as settlers stormed the outskirts of the neighborhood several times and opened paths to raise Israeli flags on its outskirts, which prompted residents and activists to respond by raising Palestinian flags along the roads connecting the city’s neighborhoods and their suburbs, such as the Al-Rayhan Suburb to emphasize their identity.
Moreover, groups of settlers raised Israeli flags at vital entrances and closed the roads leading to the village of Um Al-Khair, east of Yatta in the Hebron Governorate, in conjunction with displaying flags to intimidate residents and besiege their gatherings. Salfeet Governorate is also witnessing cases very similar to what happened in Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya and Hawara, where Israeli flags are used as a tool of pressure and intimidation to impose a fait accompli and besiege Palestinian communities. Settlers erected and raised Israeli flags around Palestinian industrial and commercial facilities in the western region of the town of Deir Ballut in a move aimed at sending threatening messages to workshop and store owners and obstructing the movement of shoppers, in conjunction with the occupation bulldozers closing the surrounding agricultural roads. The same scene is repeated in the towns and villages of Bethlehem Governorate, as is the case in Tuqu , Al-Khader, Beit Fajjar, to the south of the city of Bethlehem, and Husan, to the west of the city.
As part of its latest settlement activities, the Israeli occupation authorities issued 2 new declarations designating a total of 182.81 dunums of Palestinian land in Battir, in the Bethlehem Governorate, and Sa’ir and al-Shoiokh, in the Hebron Governorate, as ‘state land.’ The first declaration, titled ‘Bar Kochba,’ covers 64.06 dunums in financial basins 12 and 13 in Battir. The land is linked to the settlement project formerly known as ‘Nahal HaLitz,’ which originated as the Neve Uri agricultural outpost. In June 2024, the Israeli government approved the establishment of a settlement at the site, which was subsequently renamed Bar Kochba.
The second declaration, named ‘Bani Kedem,’ targets 118.75 dunums in financial basins 4 and 20 in Sa’ir and basin 8 in al-Shoiokh. The Bnei Kedem outpost was previously legalized as a neighborhood of the Metsad / Asfar settlement. On 11 Dec. 2025, the Israeli ministerial committee approved its transformation into an independent settlement as part of a decision to establish 19 new settlements in the West Bank. These measures underscore the escalation of settlement expansion through the reclassification of Palestinian land, the delineation of areas for settlement expansion, and the allocation of additional land for development. This policy facilitates the transformation of settlement outposts into officially recognized settlements, consolidates Israeli control over more Palestinian land, and further restricts the land available to Palestinians for urban and agricultural expansion.
The Israel Land Authority has also issued two tenders for the construction of 1,080 settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. The first tender, published on 7 Oct 2026, covers 730 units in the Dokhifat complex, located on the eastern edge of the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement and spanning approximately 27.5 dunums. The project includes apartments for sale and long-term rental, as well as commercial and service facilities. The second tender, published by the authority on 13 Oct. provides for the construction of 350 housing units for older people in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, alongside commercial and operational facilities.
The significance of the 2 tenders lies in their political, geographic, and demographic implications, particularly their impact on the future of occupied Jerusalem and its territorial links with the surrounding Palestinian areas. The Pisgat Ze’ev settlement, one of the largest Israeli settlements northeast of Jerusalem, is the site of the first tender. Its expansion could further fragment the geographic links between East Jerusalem’s Palestinian neighborhoods and nearby Palestinian communities, including Shuafat, Beit Hanina, and Hizma. The second tender, in Ma’ale Adumim, forms part of the broader ‘E1’ settlement plan, which seeks to link the settlement with Jerusalem. The project could further divide the West Bank into northern and southern sections, undermining territorial contiguity and prospects for the establishment of a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.
In addition, the ‘Ir Amim Association’ has revealed a new plan to establish a settlement comprising 122 housing units in the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, backed by Amana, one of the largest settlement organizations involved in establishing settlements and outposts, marked as the movement’s first settlement plan in Jerusalem, following decades of activity expanding settlements across the West Bank.
According to ‘Ir Amim,’ the plan, numbered 1602689, targets the site of the historic Shepherd Hotel in the northeastern part of Sheikh Jarrah, covering about 5.8 dunums. It stipulates the construction of residential buildings up to 12 floors high, comprising 122 settlement units. The plan remains in its early stages and has not yet been submitted to the Israeli Local Planning and Building Committee in occupied Jerusalem. The first session to discuss it is scheduled for 11 November 2026.
List of Israeli Occupation and Settlers Assaults over the Last Week
Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Preventing residents of Beit Anan from harvesting their olive crops in the Khunaidiq area and accessing their land, and seized a vehicle.
- Placing stickers bearing the name ‘War Heroes Street’ over a street sign displaying the name of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in occupied Jerusalem. The stickers appeared intended to obscure the historic name.
- Handing over notices for residents to appear before the municipality, as well as stop-work orders for several buildings by far-right settler Eliyahu Liebman, a candidate for the Israeli Knesset on the Noam party list, and others in the town of Issawiya.
- Demolishing 8 apartment residential building belonging to the Abu Labba family in the Wad area near the Kassara site, adjacent to Qalandia Refugee Camp. Knowing that the building was built 50 years ago.
Hebron:
- Attacking workers in the Electricity Department of the Beit Umar Municipality while they were working in the ‘Wadi Al-Sheikh area,’ and prevented them from delivering electricity to a home.
- Injuring 3 citizens injured and hundreds of sheep were stolen after a large number of settlers attacked the area and assaulted citizens and their homes and fired live bullets, wounding a citizen with live bullets in the thigh and two others with pepper gas in Masafer Yatta.
- Intercepting the vehicles of Al Majaz School teachers, while others attacked the Wadi Ajhish area in the town of Al Samou, south of the governorate, and burned a caravan and a barn.
- Chasing farmers and prevented them from picking olives, while others attacked the vicinity of the home of citizen Musab Rabai in the village of Al-Tuwanah and released their sheep into its vicinity, before the occupation forces stormed the area and arrested the citizen Rabai and 2 foreign activists who were documenting the attack in the town of Idhna.
- Attacking farmer Qasim Abu Tohfa while he was picking olives in the Al-Batiya area. They beat him and stole his olive crop and his wallet, which contained NIS 500. In IdHna, settlers prevented farmers from picking olives and prevented them from continuing to pick olive fruits. They tried to assault them and steal the crop.
Ramallah:
- Attacking a diplomatic delegation including representatives from France, Belgium, and Poland, as well as Palestinian farmers in the town of Taybeh. The incident occurred during an event organized to support farmers with the olive harvest, which followed the signing of a twinning agreement between the municipality of Taybeh and the French city of Saint-Pierre. The settlers smashed the windows of the Belgian ambassador’s vehicle, while the mayor of Saint-Pierre suffered from exhaustion and physical distress during the assault.
- Killing 20 sheep after being stabbed by settlers from the ‘Hilltop Youth’ group, who had raided a farm belonging to the Al-Darbani family in the Al-Manatir area, east of the Kafr Malik town.
- Attacking olive harvesters and those supporting them in the Al-Harayiq area, east of the Deir Jarir village-;- they fired live ammunition to intimidate the group and force them to leave their land.
- Attacking Palestinians harvesting olives in the Al-Naba at area in the Turmusaya town.The settlers assaulted the harvesters, set fire to three vehicles and several olive trees, and torched a vehicle belonging to local Civil Defense volunteers. One volunteer sustained injuries from being beaten, while several others suffered from tear gas inhalation.
- Injuring several Palestinians and an American journalist during an attack by settlers, carried out under the protection of occupation forces against olive harvesters in the eastern part of the Abu Falah village. The settlers set fire to olive trees, while the occupation forces fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters to compel the Palestinians to leave their land. A man was struck in the thigh by live ammunition, while a 40 year old man and a 63 year old woman were beaten.
- Attacking local residents and olive harvesters, seizing their harvested olives and 2 vehicles, while also damaging several other vehicles and forcing the residents to abandon their land, specifically in the ‘Wadi Labban’ and ‘Gharaba’ areas in the town of Abwein.
- Injuring a Palestinian during an assault by settlers, local sources reported that dozens of settlers attacked olive harvesters and members of popular support committees, beating an elderly man and leaving him with fractures and various other injuries in the Birzeit town.
Nablus:
- Seizing olive harvests in the village of Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya and forced local residents to leave their land.
- Shooting a young man while harvesting olives in the town of Aqraba.
- Preventing farmers from reaching their land in the village of Salim, east of Nablus. In the village of Burin, south of Nablus.
- Attacking olive harvesters and stole their equipment in the village of Burin, south of Nablus. in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.
- Cutting down scores of olive trees in the Al-Sahl area in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, simultaneously, occupation forces raided the eastern part of the town, attacking farmers and detaining several families. Several individuals sustained fractures and bruises while being pursued, and one woman fainted-;- the injured were transported to a medical center.
- Expelling olive harvesters in the town of Beita, 2 residents were beaten by settlers on land in the Bir Qura area.
- Preventing farmers in the village of Yasid from completing their olive harvest, having attacked them and stopped them from continuing work on their agricultural land.
- Destroying electricity poles supplying the home of the Sufan family, resulting in a power outage in the town of Burin. Moreover, they attacked olive harvesters in the villages and towns of Bazariya, Beita, Qusra, Qabalan, Burqa, and Madama, beating farmers and stealing both their olive harvests and harvesting equipment. Settlers also attacked Palestinian vehicles and pursued farmers in the vicinity of the northern bridge in the village of Madama, and set fire to land belonging to local residents in the town of Burqa.
Salfeet:
- Attacking farmers in the Al-Wad area, stealing 2 tractors and olive-harvesting equipment. They assaulted one farmer and, using the threat of arms, forced others to leave the area, incidents that took place in the towns of Jamma in, Marda, and Yasuf, north of Salfeet.
- Intercepting a group of local residents, assaulted them, and held several of them captive before eventually releasing them in the "Al-Dhuhoor" area of Deir Istiya. in the Wad al-Sha ir area, northeast of Salfeet.
- Attacking Palestinian farmers and those harvesting olives. The assault left 3 individuals with injuries and bruises. The settlers also set fire to a vehicle and olive trees, and stole both the harvested olives and agricultural equipment in the Wad Sha ir area, northeast of Salfeet,.
Jenin:
- Forcing farmers to leave their lands in the village of Jalboun, preventing them from continuing to harvest olives in the town, and seized a farmer’s vehicle.
- Bulldozing inside the ‘Sanur Camp site’ and brought a bulldozer, which began bulldozing work inside the evacuated camp site along the road linking the towns of Jaba and Sanur, amid fears that the camp would be turned into a new settlement outpost.
- Preventing farmers from harvesting olives on their lands near the ‘Sanur settlement’ between the towns of Jaba and Ojja. Moreover, in Jaba, the occupation forces demolished 2 barracks used for parking vehicles, and continued to prevent a citizen from accessing a barrack designated for raising livestock that contained more than 30 livestock, for the second day in a row.
- Handing over more than 20 demolition notices to agricultural and commercial facilities in Jenin Governorate, including greenhouses, agricultural rooms, and a vehicle showroom.

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