This past week’s army vs citizen violence in the Binyamina area brings to the fore three separate but related issues: “settler violence,” criminal elements within the “hilltop” population, and the establishment’s attitude towards the civil rights of “hilltop youth.”
The events of Friday night, June 27, are still clouded in mystery. The official versions have been evolving; parts of the early statements by the army spokesman were later proven inaccurate – either intentionally or by speaking prematurely.
Either way, the official account differed and continues to differ from that of the youth at the scene.
Similarly, the events surrounding the reported burning and destruction of IDF equipment on Sunday are unclear.
There appear to be two undisputed facts: A 14-year-old boy was shot with live ammunition on Friday night by an IDF soldier, and IDF equipment was significant damaged on Sunday. Both of those events crossed red lines and need to be investigated. Such events must not be repeated. Attacks on IDF personnel and equipment cannot be justified.
THE DAMAGE to the IDF equipment may have been caused by criminal elements within a segment of the “hilltop” population. The incident should be thoroughly investigated and whoever is responsible should be held accountable. Within every segment of society, unfortunately, there are those who cross the borders of acceptable and legal behavior.
In each locale, sector, or demographic, unlawful or violent behavior is manifest by the local circumstances. Just as in the case of someone with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a religious Jew might check his phylacteries’ placement numerous times, while another person might repeatedly check the locks on their doors. Both have the same compulsion, but its manifestation is circumstance-dependent. So too, with fringe criminal elements.
The criminal youth in Tel Aviv might be involved in gang turf wars, while the “hilltop” kid in Binyamina with the same tendencies might attack an army vehicle. Neither is acceptable, and neither, in Israel, is a reflection of a violent society as a whole. Rather, they both belong to a criminal fringe that must be reined in.
These recent events must be clearly distinguished from so-called “settler violence.” That term is an antisemitic term with no basis in reality. Residents of Judea and Samaria (“settlers”) constitute a diverse population of over half a million Israelis. They are overwhelmingly law-abiding, productive citizens.
Settlers overwhelmingly serve in and respect the army; they represent 5% of the country’s population and account for 16% of the casualties in the current war.
There is no institutional incitement to terror, unlike among many of their Arab neighbors, and no praising of terror.
A RECENT Regavim report clearly showed that the “data” used to claim “settler violence” is warped, biased, and fictional. The data used by anti-Israel organizations to assert “settler violence,” it states, includes items such as self-defense, IDF activity, and even the act of Jews walking on the Temple Mount.
It is imperative that the Israeli government and media not fall into the trap of promulgating the canard, the blood-libel of non-existent settler violence, when in fact they are referring to isolated instances of criminal activity.
Misrepresenting isolated incidents
This term “settler violence” misrepresents isolated incidents of criminal behavior as systemic, ideologically driven, or representative of an entire population.
To describe criminal activity as “settler violence” blurs the line between isolated crime and collective guilt and creates a false narrative of widespread Jewish aggression. It is equivalent to labeling every urban area in the US as “gang territory” based on the crimes of a few.
When media outlets, NGOs, and diplomats speak of “settler violence,” they reinforce a false moral equivalence between isolated acts of Jewish criminality and systematic campaigns of terror by Palestinian factions.
Worse, such talk fuels delegitimization, portraying Jews living in Judea and Samaria as inherently extremist or violent – simply because of where they live. In a time when anti-Israel and antisemitic narratives are on the rise globally, such distortion is not merely inaccurate – it is dangerous.
The antipathy toward “settlers” that this canard of “settler violence” has generated has led to an actual or perceived cheapening of the life and civil rights of the “hilltop” youth. In late 2020, “hilltop” kid Ahuvia Sandak was killed when his car was overturned in a police chase. There was no real investigation, and no one was ever held accountable.
In January 2025, an IDF soldier shot and seriously injured two “hilltop” youth near Karnei Shomron. There was no serious investigation, and the soldier was not held accountable. And now, in the recent shooting, the army has closed ranks and, thus far, there seems to be no indication of an investigation regarding the bullet in the teen.
REGARDING THE civil rights of these hilltop youth, regular arrests are made, which include violations of many of their legal protections: minors interrogated without parents, strip searches, detention without access to legal counsel, incarceration in conditions not according to the law, etc. Then, after holding them for a time, they are usually simply released.
How do I know that illegal methods are used? Because time and again, the courts award compensation to the victims by the police.
But there are no consequences for the officers involved, nor for their superiors. And the police continue to be repeat offenders. In this regard, they simply ignore the law.
It is thus understandable that the hilltop youth, including the large law-abiding majority, have no love lost for the police and feel betrayed by the establishment.
Criminal behavior should be addressed wherever it occurs, regardless of the perpetrator’s identity or political context, be it by policing, education, social services, or other means. However, it is imperative that officialdom in Israel stop treating all hilltop-looking kids as if they were criminals.
There must be zero tolerance for libelous claims of “settler violence.” The term is a rhetorical tool that conflates crime with ideology, individuals with communities, and incidents with patterns that do not exist.
The writer is a professor of neuroscience at Bar-Ilan University.