Israel Plans State Funding for Extremist Settler Group 'Hilltop Youth'

The Israeli government has reportedly outlined a plan to issue state funding to members of the extremist settler group Hilltop Youth, allocating some 5.5 million shekels ($1.9 million) for monthly stipends for its members.

Founded in the late 1990s, the group has been operating in the West Bank and maintaining a network of illegal outposts in the occupied Palestinian territories. Over the years, the Hilltop Youth has been involved in numerous violent incidents against Palestinians, including arson and murder, with almost complete impunity. The group, which is believed to have fewer than 1,000 active members, was recognized as an extremist entity and sanctioned by the EU and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control back in 2024.

The Israeli government is now seeking to provide stipends to the members of the group to cover food, clothes, and other basic necessities, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported on Monday, citing a document issued by far-right Settlement and National Missions Minister Orit Strock. The ministry has identified more than 650 youths living in hilltop outposts across the West Bank who are eligible for the program.

The members of the group will receive about $550 per month under the program starting in June, according to the newspaper. The plan involves allocating nearly $2 million to bankroll the program until the end of the year.

The funds are a part of a broader program worth some 120 million shekels ($41.3 million), which is supposed to address the violence against Palestinians perpetrated by settlers, the daily noted. The program combines educational means with social work, including fielding mediators between the Hilltop Youth and local authorities, as well as encouraging military conscription.

The movement, which takes its roots in religious Zionism, is largely composed of Israeli settlers aged between 16 and 26. The group’s members opt to leave their homes, abandoning their education or work, to live in hilltop outposts overlooking Palestinian communities while harassing locals. The settler violence has been on the rise in the West Bank since the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023, which triggered a major conflict in Gaza.