Netanyahu calls violent Israeli settlers “a handful of kids”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described violent Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank as a “handful of kids”, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on January 1st.

This claim was made during an interview with Fox News on December 30th, with Netanyahu stating that “When they’re talking about [violent settlers], they’re talking about a handful of kids.”

He added, “They’re actually teenagers who come from broken homes, and they do things like chopping olive trees, and sometimes they try to burn a home.”

Netanyahu’s statements seemingly downplayed the significance of the violence inflicted upon Palestinians in the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem by settlers, some of whom have established outposts from which they launch attacks.

One high-profile group of Israeli settlers is the Hilltop Youth, a paramilitary organisation that has been involved in clashes with Israeli authorities and has urged the government to keep fighting its genocidal war on Gaza until Hamas is eliminated.

In 2020, a member of the Hilltop Youth, Amiram Ben-Uliel, was convicted for his role in a 2015 firebombing that killed three members of the Palestinian Dawabsheh family in the West Bank.

However, it was reported in October that 55 Israeli politicians had signed a letter urging President Isaac Herzog to pardon a number of Jewish extremist murderers, including Ben-Uliel.

Speaking about Israelis imprisoned for extremist violence, MP Limor Son Har-Melech said during an interview with Ynet, “There is no moral justification for keeping Jews in prison who, even if they made a mistake, pose no danger to the public.”

Har-Melech’s contempt for Palestinian life is well-documented, such as when she was present at the storming of a prison by far-right Israelis who defended the torture of Palestinian detainees by soldiers.

She is a member of the Jewish Power Party, which is led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Both politicians have endorsed the Knesset passing a bill to allow the execution of Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds.”

Ben-Gvir has similarly expressed a blatant disregard for Palestinian life, so much so that he has faced sanctions from a range of governments, including the UK.

In his role as National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir is responsible for overseeing Palestinian prisoner affairs; on December 30th, it was reported that at least 32 Palestinian detainees died in Israeli prisons in 2025, with many being subjected to inhumane conditions.

Furthermore, as a trained lawyer, Ben-Gvir has built a reputation on getting Jewish Israelis accused of anti-Palestinian violence and incitement acquitted.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org