Israel’s Ministry of National Security, headed by far right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, is set to transfer four million shekels ($1.31m) to a sanctioned group which supports illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media is reporting.
Ahavat Gilad (“Love of Gilad”) was among six firms sanctioned by France, the UK, Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand in June, after it was revealed that it had been involved in facilitating and financing a spike in settler violence across the West Bank.
Ahavat Gilad was sanctioned after it was found that it transferred donations raised by the Farms Union, which provides financial and organisational support to settler farms, directly to illegal outposts.
Haaretz reported, citing documents submitted by the Ministry of National Security, that the money is intended to “reduce incidents of violence” and to “establish a network of mentors to accompany youth staying on farms throughout Judea and Samaria”.
The sum will be paid out over the course of a year and a half, with the possibility of an extension.
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The move comes after the government approved a “national plan” in May to address what it described as a “negative phenomenon among youth” in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge in settler attacks on Palestinians.
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According to the reports, the plan proposed to “prevent youths from entering cycles of violence” as Israel faces mounting pressure to curb settler violence in the West Bank.
According to the documents, the ministry selected Ahavat Gilad due to its ties with “farmers, the army, the police and government ministries”.
The ministry said that “providing an effective response to the youth requires relying on ‘responsible adults’ who come from the field, are figures familiar to the youth, share their living space with them and hold their trust”.
It further noted that the project is geared towards establishing a “professional system” that aligns the “reality on the ground” with the Ministry of National Security, saying that this is required to “ensure effective prevention”.
The ministry told Haaretz that: “It is very unfortunate that instead of praising the ministry for leading the move to reduce and prevent violence and risky behaviors among youth, Haaretz newspaper (which ironically would have attacked the ministry if such a plan had not been implemented at all) chooses to rely on baseless claims by anti-Israel elements”.
