Watan-Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “supporting the heinous crimes” being committed by settlers against Palestinians.
In remarks to Israeli Army Radio, Olmert stated that Netanyahu, in his capacity as prime minister, “backs the heinous crimes committed by the Hilltop Youth in the Palestinian territories,” adding that the government also turns a blind eye to these actions.
The Hilltop Youth is a far-right extremist group of Israeli settlers known for attacking Palestinians—opening fire on civilians, setting property on fire, uprooting trees, and establishing illegal outposts.
Settler Violence Surges Under Netanyahu Government Amid Gaza War
Members of this group are affiliated with right-wing parties that are part of the current Israeli government, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.
Since the formation of the current government at the end of 2020, settler violence against Palestinians has significantly intensified, especially in the northern West Bank.
Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, has received a major boost under this government, according to the left-wing Israeli organization Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the Israeli army and settlers have escalated their assaults in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of over 945 Palestinians, the wounding of nearly 7,000, and the arrest of 15,800, according to official Palestinian data.
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