Israeli police recruit ‘Hilltop Youth’ despite violent history

The Israeli police are cooperating with settler communities, including the “extremist” so-called Hilltop Youth group, whose members are known for their anti-Palestinian stance, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday.

“After over a decade of distrust and even animosity toward the police, members of the settler faction known as the ‘Hilltop Youth’ — some of whom associate with extremists involved in hate crimes against Palestinians — are in regular, productive contact with the Israel Police,” revealed the daily newspaper.

The recent collaboration with the police comes in the context of a project run by the Ministry of Public Security called “The Good Eye”. The project aims to improve the image of the police among settler groups, including radicals.

#PriceTag

The project has helped collaboration between the police and Jewish residents of the illegal Gush Etzion settlement, after they “had been almost entirely alienated from each other.” On many occasions when the police visited the settlement prior to the project’s launch, settlers attempted to attack officers.

“The residents, particularly the young residents, of settlements like Karmei Tzur, Tekoa, Bat Ayin, and Alon Shvut expressed a lack of faith in police officers, and therefore in the police as a whole,” Israel Hayom added.

The Hilltop Youth are known to be one of the Jewish “Price Tag” organisations, some of the most extremist Israeli groups which assault Palestinians and attack their property. Most notably, “Price Tag” was responsible for the murderous arson attack against the Dawabshah family to the south of Nablus in late July 2015.

“Jewish extremists” are Israel’s own sons

A view of the threat scrawl on a door of a house belongs to Palestinians after 3 vehicles belonging to Palestinians set on fire by Israeli settlers, at Umm Safa village in Ramallah, West Bank on August 09, 2017. ( Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency )