The far-right Jewish settlers using chat groups to boast of their acts of terror against Palestinians

Footage of a group of settlers labeled as the ‘King David Brigades’ burning vehicles in Deir Sharaf in the northern West Bank

Matan Golan reports in Haaretz on 20 November 2025:

Far-right settlers are using increasingly inflammatory language in their chat groups, in some cases boasting openly about acts of violence they have committed.

In some of their WhatsApp groups, these Jewish extremists have been circulating videos and photos of themselves attacking Palestinians in West Bank villages and urging violence against Israel’s Border Police and IDF troops stationed in the West Bank. Many of these documented acts have been attributed to a group called the “King David Brigades.”

In one incident last month, one of the groups circulated a detailed list of the Palestinian villages in the West Bank that had been attacked by settlers, including the number of attacks in each place.

Such online incitement continues to be spread even though the Shin Bet Security Service and the police have access to these groups.

An animated clip circulating in one of these WhatsApp groups showed a young man using his tzitzit – ritual fringes that religious Jewish males wear under their shirts – as a mask to cover his eyes. In the background, opposition MK Meirav Cohen is heard saying that a “terrorist with a tzitzit is still a terrorist” in the Knesset, while on-screen, the words “Jewish light” appear on the screen as she denounces “Jewish terror.”

Another post features a song whose lyrics deem settler violence “an expression of love for the land and the people.”

Along with glorifying acts of Jewish terror, members of these WhatsApp groups have targeted the Border Police for attempting to crack down on their violence. “Spot the differences,” read a caption next to a photo of a Border Policewoman holding a gun juxtaposed against a photo of a Hamas terrorist taken on October 7. “In both pictures, terrorists are trying to murder Jews.”

Border Police Commander Maj. Gen. Berik Yitzchak condemned the post, calling the analogy “blatant incitement that has no place in our country.” He warned that any form of incitement against the Border Police would be investigated “if necessary.”

Another message included a photo of a Border Police officer wounded during the evacuation of an illegal settler outpost in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, captioned: “Wounded by righteous Jews who refuse to remain silent.”

“There is law and there is a judge for all who destroy the Holy Land,” it added.

Activists also shared a video of an attack against Palestinians in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, with the following message: “More from the heroic Jews, several Arabs and leftists were wounded in the incident.”

Threats were also threats directed at the IDF Central Command chief, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth. One post shared in the chat groups, for example, showed graffiti sprayed in a Palestinian village that said: “We’re not afraid of Avi Bluth.”

Earlier this month, police informed the High Court of Justice that they had opened two separate investigations into the WhatsApp group called Hadashot HaGvaot (“Hilltop News”), which in October 2023 circulated calls to “erase Hawara now,” just before Jewish settlers plundered the Palestinian village.

Police sources confirmed to Haaretz that the investigation is in its final stages, noting that the findings will be transferred to the State Prosecutor’s Office upon completion.

In response to a request for comment, the IDF said that it “condemns any form of incitement, and any physical or verbal abuse against security forces carrying out their duty to protect the citizens of Israel.”

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