A document from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office seen by Euronews outlines unprecedented measures against settler violence as the army is set to pull some troops away from Lebanon to the West Bank to rein in Jewish extremists.
A document seen exclusively by Euronews shows instructions by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Israeli army and police to crack down on settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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The instructions, shared in a non-public document titled "Prime Minister’s Directive on Combating Nationalist Crimes in Judea and Samaria," are an exceedingly unusual move for the Netanyahu administration. Judea and Samaria are the biblical names of the area known today as the West Bank.
The army had announced last week it was diverting troops away from its ongoing offensive in Lebanon to the West Bank in order to rein in Jewish settler violence. It is the first time Israel pulls out forces from an active war front to dispatch them to a territory deemed far less dangerous or critical.
The news also comes amid warnings by IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir that the army is close to collapse due to severe manpower shortages, as it is stretched on several fronts across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, resulting a shortfall of troops.
Some 700,000 settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3.8 million Palestinians who are hoping to establish a future state there. Both territories are occupied illegally under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Settlement activity has been rising steadily under Netanyahu and especially since the election of US President Donald Trump. A staunch supporter of Israel, Trump has, unlike his predecessors, refrained from condemning settlement expansion, though he did oppose plans to annex the West Bank.
In the first three months of 2025, Israel approved more settlement housing than in all of 2024, according to Israeli advocacy organisation Peace Now.
Radical Jewish settler elements have been emboldened by the presence of hardline politicians in the Israeli government, such as finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. In 2023, Smotrich established a new government body called the “Settlements Administration" that he personally oversees, and which allows for quicker decisions on settlement expansion.
An unusual move for the Netanyahu administration
The prime minister's directive, as seen by Euronews, was issued at the latest security cabinet meeting on 25 March. It states that IDF troops in the West Bank would be "reinforced to strengthen the combating of nationalist crimes and to ensure the effective presence of forces in areas of friction." No new settlement outposts will be allowed in Area B, a section of the West Bank which is under joint Palestinian and Israeli control.
Netanyahu has in the past condemned settler violence though he usually describes it as the work of a few extremists rather than a widespread phenomenon, making this shift in policy and the recall of troops all the more remarkable.
The directive also outlines economic sanctions against settlers who would illegally set up new outposts, due to the cost incurred by the IDF to dismantle them. It calls on government ministers to support "the fight against nationalist crimes in Judea and Samaria," in what appears to be a veiled warning to Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, another hardline cabinet member promoting settlement expansion. Several European countries have slapped sanctions on both ministers, including a travel ban.
The 'Hilltop Youth' phenomenon
The document also mentions the establishment of a special administration within the Ministry of Defence to address the “Hilltop Youth” phenomenon, in reference to extremist religious-nationalist Jewish youth living in the West Bank and who advocate for the expulsion of all Palestinians and the establishment of a religious state.
They have been found responsible for setting up outposts on private Palestinian land and attacking Palestinians, as well as vandalising and looting their properties. They have also violently confronted Israeli soldiers and police during outpost evacuations. Both Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have praised them as "pioneers". The new special administration says it will "steer at-risk youth away from violent activity through educational and therapeutic interventions."
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has noted an increase in settler violence against West Bank Palestinians with more than 1,800 attacks and the displacement of some 1,600 Palestinians in 2025. A total of 240 Palestinians have been killed either by settlers or the army in 2025. 17 Israelis were killed by Palestinians during the same period.