Today (3/5/26), the government decided to allocate NIS 131.1 million for a “multi-year national program to reduce risk situations and expand positive responses for youth in the Judea and Samaria area.” The government declares an intention to address settler violence, but in practice it is a program to strengthen the settlements, channel millions to regional councils of settlements, and to establish and build new frameworks and institutions in the settlements, which will integrate into settlement activity and the systematic takeover of additional areas in the West Bank.
Among the goals for which the government allocates funds are actions that clearly constitute settlement expansion, as well as actions strikingly similar to frameworks that the government and local authorities in the settlements currently operate in outposts and illegal farms under the pretext of rehabilitation and education.
Peace Now: The government uses every excuse to justify pouring more and more millions into settlements. This is a program to expand settlements under the guise of combating violence. The government is directing a significant portion of the funds to the same actors and activities that currently serve as the main supporters of the outposts and farms from which the violence originates. To fight violence coming from outposts and farms, it is first necessary to stop establishing and funding them, to instruct the IDF to act to prevent violence, and for the police to bring violent offenders to justice.
Actions within the plan that directly contribute to settlement development:
- Ministry of Defense – Establishment of four new pre-military academies to run programs lasting one to three months – NIS 11,800,000
- Ministry of Education – Establishment of four new educational institutions – NIS 3,000,000
- Ministry of Education – Construction of therapeutic and recreational spaces and establishment of a new educational framework – NIS 4,000,000
- Ministry of Settlement Affairs – Assistance in funding coordinators’ salaries in regional councils, purchase of equipment, food, and clothing for frameworks established for participating youth – NIS 18,000,000
- Ministry of Settlement Affairs – Establishment of youth centers for culture and sports, workshops, and afternoon activities – NIS 13,300,000
- National-Civil Service Authority – Expansion of national service into the field of youth in settlements – NIS 9,000,000
- Ministry of Labor – Establishment of a vocational school for youth employment – NIS 18,000,000
- Employment Service – Integration of youth into quality employment through a dedicated program – NIS 3,000,000
Additional actions the government plans to fund:
- Ministry of National Security – Reinforcing community policing and the activities of the National Authority for Community Security in settlements – NIS 25,500,000.
- Ministry of Welfare – Adding social workers to provide emotional and therapeutic support for youth – NIS 13,500,000.
- Ministry of Education – Expanding programs preventing school dropout – NIS 12,000,000.
An additional indication of the program’s true purpose can be found by comparing it to the previous government plan from 2021 to combat violence among “hilltop youth.” The earlier plan allocated about NIS 10 million per year (compared to about NIS 44 million per year in the current decision) solely to activities of the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Education—directly addressing educational and social issues. It did not include construction of new frameworks or the channeling of budgets into developing services in settlements.