Education Ministry inaugurates first school for illegal settler outposts in Judea & Samaria

The Israeli government established a dedicated school for young men from the Hilltop Youth movement in Beit El, Judea and Samaria, as part of a government initiative seeking to offer an “educational solution” to the issue of settler violence. 

The inauguration of the Otzmat HaLev school, one of four such schools to be established for youth working on farms at illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria, was attended by Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Beit El Mayor Shai Alon, and other dignitaries. 

The government initiative, part of an operational plan developed with Defense Minister Israel Katz, is meant to replace a focus primarily on enforcement of specific incidents with a dedicated educational, therapeutic, and professional framework designed to put youth on a path of “action and contribution to the State of Israel.” 

The initiative seeks to address the issue that many of the young men in the Hilltop Youth movement are troubled youth, who have dropped out of school and are no longer living at home. 

In contrast to the regular educational framework, the professional teams working with the youth will operate within the school and also on the farms where the youth live. This has drawn criticism from many in Israeli society, due to the illegal nature of these farms. 

The Ministry of Education says that the framework was designed to allow the youth to complete their studies, develop abilities, and later integrate into IDF service, work, and Israeli society. 

Kisch said that "the education system is committed to reaching every student and every teenager. The establishment of the designated schools is an expression of this commitment, to provide an educational response tailored to the Hilltop Youth, to provide them with tools for success, and to assist in their integration into meaningful service and a path of action and contribution to the State of Israel." 

Kisch thanked the heads of the authorities in Judea and Samaria for their partnership in promoting the move and for their joint work with the Ministry of Education. 

It is unclear how the program will ensure the youth attend the schools, as the youth live in the farm outposts without their parents, and cannot legally drive. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously described the youth involved in incidents of violence as "juvenile delinquents," while insisting that most settlers are upstanding citizens. He also claimed that Palestinian terror, not settler violence, is the greater threat in Judea and Samaria.

Bash: “Violent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. “Israeli settlers in the West Bank raided and set fire to a restaurant. but my question is, if they're just thugs, why won't or can't you stop them?

Netanyahu: “Well, we do actually. it's about 100. It's actually… pic.twitter.com/I1OSgi1sfN

— MCBN (@MCBNNEWSS) July 8, 2026

However, recent comments from IDF Central Command senior officers appear to contradict such statements. Over the past three years, incidents of settler violence, often at the hands of the Hilltop Youth, have increased.

Beit El Council Chairman Shai Alon said that the opening of the school marks a change in the state's approach to the Hilltop Youth. 

“Education is always the most profound and correct response,” Alon said. “For years, they talked mainly about the problems, today we are presenting the solution.” 

“Instead of being satisfied with enforcement, the state is investing in education, guidance, and building a future for them,” Alon continued. “This place will provide them with an educational, learning, and professional framework, and will also help reduce the phenomena of violence and strengthen the settlement as a whole.” 

Likud MK Avichay Buaron praised the opening of the school for “at-risk youth” to his 𝕏 account. 

“Two days ago, we had the honor of inaugurating in Beit El the first school out of four mobile schools that will be established for the benefit of the youth of the farms and hills in Judea and Samaria,” Buaron wrote. 

Buaron called the opening “an impressive display of responsibility by the state toward at-risk youth who have left the formal framework.” 

In comments at the ceremony, he also called the opening of the school “good news for the settlements and the State of Israel.” 

According to him, “The youth on the farm are the best quality there is, who devote their best years to the mission of the settlement of the land, and it is our duty to ensure that nothing is spared from them in terms of educational resources and that they are not deprived of the curriculum that every young person in Israel deserves.” 

Buaron, a strong supporter of the settlement movement, spoke about his personal connection to the settlements, noting his son joined a farm at the age of 15, while his daughter performed National Service on a farm in Judea and Samaria, serving as an educational counselor. 

Claiming that most of the youth are dealing with personal and academic difficulties, Buaron said, “Today, the state and the Ministry of Education are providing them with a solution, and I am proud to be part of the people who made the change.”