‘Regional defence’ settler units are escalating violent displacement of Palestinians, Israeli reservists and activists say
Israel’s army has become a vehicle for violent settlers to escalate their campaign against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, with reserve units drawn from settlements functioning as vigilante militias, according to Israeli soldiers and activists, and the United Nations.
Hagmar, or regional defence units, were set up across the West Bank from October 2023, as conscripts and the standing army deployed there prepared to move to Gaza.
The system handed weapons and authority to thousands of settlers, who formed military units in their own communities, with few checks on how these powers would be used. The state pays hagmar salaries, but in effect they operate in parallel to regular battalions.
Yaakov*, who served as a reservist in the occupied West Bank in 2024, described the hagmar as “armed militias doing what they want”.
