7/13/2025–|Last update: 01:19 (Mecca time)
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – Saturday – said that the extremist “youth of the hills” group committed “daily war crimes” against the Palestinians in the West Bank, and he also accused the police of responsibility for these crimes “regardless of them and neglecting the army.”
“The Jews kill the Palestinians daily in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), while the youth of the Youth of the hills commit war crimes.”
He pointed out that considering this group a minority is a “false claim”, stressing that “they have support … otherwise they would not have done this.”
And the “Youth of Hilate” group is a settlement youth group with an extreme right -wing orientation, which originated in 1998, and believes that a Jewish state must be established on the “Greater Israel Land”, after all the Palestinians were expelled from it.
Most members of the group reside in settlement foci in the occupied West Bank and refuse to evacuate them, and are constantly carrying out attacks against the Palestinians, and from them the nucleus of the extremist settlement “payment” group launched.
On May 21, Olmert – who headed the government between 2006 and 2009 – confirmed that Tel Aviv is not only committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, but also in the occupied West Bank and at a daily pace.
He also warned of Israel’s crimes in Gaza, and he said – in an interview with the BBC (BBC) – “What Israel is now doing in Gaza is close to a war crime.”
He added that “this is a war without goal, without hope to save the hostages, which appears that thousands of innocent Palestinians are killed, as well as many Israeli soldiers, and this is disgraceful.”
Police unit
The Israeli National Security Minister Etamar bin Ghaffir announced – last Thursday – the establishment of a police unit of dozens of settlers, with the aim of implementing the “sovereignty” of Tel Aviv on the occupied West Bank.
The new unit includes dozens of volunteers from the towns (settlements), and was established with the aim of providing a quick and effective response in emergency situations, as well as contributing to the treatment of crimes and the promotion of personal security in the region, according to the Israeli police.
On Friday, settlers killed two Palestinians in an attack on the town of Single, north of Ramallah (center), one of them as a result of a severe beating, and the other with gunfire, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
On October 7, 2024, the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on the “youth of the hills” extremist group, for its work to establish illegal settlement foci throughout the occupied West Bank.
On the same day, the newspaper “Times of Israel” said that such sanctions will not be effective, explaining that the group is “not an official organization.”
The European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia have already imposed similar sanctions on the same group earlier this year.
Parallel to the extermination in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army and the settlers escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, which led to the death of at least 998 Palestinians, the injury of about 7,000, and the arrest of more than 18,000 others, according to Palestinian data.