‘Jewish Terrorism In West Bank Out Of Control’: Israel Shin Bet Chief Bar On Extremist Group ‘Hilltop Youth’

A Palestinian woman, whose family land was taken over by armed Israeli settlers, confronts a settler in the area of al-Makhrour in the Israeli-held West Bank. Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned PM Netanyahu regarding rising cases of Jewish terror. (Image: AFP/Reuters)

Israeli Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has come under fire from certain quarters of the Netanyahu cabinet for his letter claiming that Jewish terror in the West Bank has the backing of higher authorities.

Israeli Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that Jewish terror is a danger to the existence of Israel, referring to the actions of the Hilltop Youth, who are radical, nationalist Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

They oppose the Israeli government’s policies and often engage in violent acts against Palestinians and Israeli authorities. They have established illegal outposts in the West Bank. They aim to drive away Palestinians from the West Bank and believe they are reclaiming and settling biblical lands promised to the Jewish people.

“The ‘hilltop youth’ trend has long become a bed of violent activity against Palestinians. It isn’t crime because it’s the use of violence to create intimidation, to spread fear. That is terror,” Bar said in his letter to Netanyahu.

The Shin Bet, officially known as the Israel Security Agency (ISA), is one of the three primary pillars of Israel’s intelligence community, alongside Aman, the military intelligence division, and Mossad, the foreign intelligence service. While Aman and Mossad focus on military and external threats, respectively, Shin Bet’s primary mandate is the internal security of Israel.

“I never agreed to the term ‘nationalist crime.’ It isn’t crime because it’s the use of violence to create intimidation, to spread fear, that is terror. It’s not ‘nationalist crime’ and certainly not national because it challenges national security,” he wrote.

In his letter he criticised the actions of Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Shin Bet operates independently of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and its chief reports directly to the Prime Minister of Israel. Bar told Netanyahu that the actions of minister Ben-Gvir “created a very significant risk to regional security”, referring to his recent visit to the compound with hundreds of supporters, many of whom appeared to be praying openly in defiance of the status quo rules.

The hillside compound, in Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive locations in West Asia, holy for both Muslims and Jews, and the trigger for repeated conflict.

Bar warned Netanyahu that Ben-Gvir’s actions could lead Israel “to profuse bloodshed and change the state’s face unrecognizably”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office immediately put out a statement restating the official Israeli position, which accepts decades-old rules restricting non-Muslim prayer at the mosque compound, known as Temple Mount to Jews, who revere it as the site of two ancient temples.

Bar in his letter warned against the changing nature of ‘Jewish terror’ from “focused covert activity to broad, open activity. From using a cigarette lighter to using weapons of war. Sometimes using weapons that were distributed by the state lawfully”.

“The leaders of the Jewish terrorists want to cause the system to lose control, causing indescribable damage to Israel,” he further added.

Ben-Gvir has called for the dismissal of Bar at a meeting but Netanyahu and other ministers backed Bar which angered the far-right minister, who stormed out of the meeting.

He repeated a call for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, drawing sharp criticism for inflaming tensions as ceasefire negotiators seek a deal to halt fighting in Gaza.

“The policy allows prayers on the Temple Mount, there is equal law between Jews and Muslims – I would build a synagogue there,” Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying by Army Radio in a post on social media platform X, following an interview on Monday.