TNA Staff
The New Arab / December 3, 2025
A leaked document reported by Yedioth Ahronoth shows Netanyahu backing Jewish settler “farms” in Area C as part of efforts to block Palestinian land access.
An official Israeli government document has shown Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for settler “farms” in Area C of the occupied West Bank, according to a report published Wednesday by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The newspaper said the document illustrates Netanyahu’s backing of these sites as a means of preventing Palestinians from maintaining control over open land in the area.
The document, titled “Summary of the Prime Minister’s Discussion on Educational Tools to Combat Hilltop Youth Violence in Judea and Samaria”, outlines the discussion of a meeting held roughly two weeks ago.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the document reveals that Netanyahu supports the continued presence of settler farms established in the West Bank in order to “preserve” open lands in Area C.
The report notes that these farms are not officially legal under Israeli definitions and are run by extremist settler groups such as the Hilltop Youth. Despite this, Yedioth Ahronoth said they “enjoy recognition and support from the Israeli government”.
The meeting took place after what the newspaper described as a surge in settler violence in early November.
The document, prepared by the National Security Council, states under a section titled “Prime Minister’s Summary” that “approved and supervised [settler] farms represent a positive and necessary response to preserve the lands of Area C, and constitute a counter to Palestinian activity in the area”.
According to unnamed sources cited by the newspaper, Netanyahu also directed officials to accelerate the process of formalising the legal status of these farms.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that although the outposts’ structures are illegal, “most of the grazing land they use is legal and allocated to them by the Civil Administration”.
For years, Israeli authorities have been working to regulate such sites as “individual farms” rather than full Jewish settlements, in line with an Israeli strategy that views these outposts as tools for maintaining control of open land.
According to the report, between 70 and 100 settler farm outposts now exist in the West Bank, including more than 15 established after the start of Israel’s war on Gaza. In 2024, the outposts were unified under what is known in Israel as the “Union of Farms”, which operates through lobbying efforts and receives funding in cooperation with the settlers’ council and in coordination with official Israeli authorities.
Under the current government, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of Settlements Orit Strook have sharply increased support for these outposts.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the two ministers allocated “tens of millions of shekels” over the past three years using coalition funds. As construction at the sites is illegal even under Israeli law, the government has channelled funds towards mobile equipment and security infrastructure to support settler presence on grazing land.
The report states that the government views these farms as a means of countering Palestinian territorial consolidation in the West Bank, particularly amid international pressure over the future of Palestinian statehood.
Despite rising settler violence, particularly involving youth groups, the meeting made a distinction between outposts whose young residents were described as “dropouts” and hilltop outposts where more violent incidents have been recorded by the Hilltop Youth.
Defence Minister Israel Katz, Central Command chief Major General Avi Blot, Shin Bet representatives and several ministers took part in the discussion.
According to data presented by Israeli security officials at the meeting, around one thousand youths associated with the farms and hilltop outposts are classified as dropouts, with approximately 300 involved in violent activity.
Of these, around 70 were described as the “hard core” responsible for Hilltop Youth terrorism and other extremist actions against Palestinians, while the rest were said to be young people drawn into the orbit of more committed activists.
