Who Are The Israeli ‘Hilltop Girls’ Building New Settler Outposts In The West Bank?

Young Israeli women are establishing outposts on hilltops across the occupied West Bank as part of what has been described as a “soft settlement” strategy.

According to Al Jazeera, known as the “Hilltop Girls”, they are linked to the broader Hilltop Youth movement, a radical settler network that emerged in the late 1990s around the creation of unauthorised outposts.

Rather than foregrounding confrontations with Palestinians, the women promote an image of ordinary community life, raising children, cooking and maintaining homes, while establishing a presence on Palestinian land.

From Hilltop Youth

The Hilltop Youth emerged in 1998 after then-Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon called on young settlers to occupy West Bank hilltops.

The Hilltop Girls represent a newer form of the same movement. Their social-media presence portrays the outposts as family communities, helping to normalise them while the settlements expand.

The movement is rooted in an ideological vision of Jewish control over the West Bank and, according to Al Jazeera, a broader “Greater Israel”.

Building Outposts

Maoz Esther, northeast of Ramallah, illustrates the process.

Established as a youth outpost in 2006, it was repeatedly demolished and rebuilt. By 2025, an area known as the “Girls’ Hill” had grown to 17 families and more than 50 children.

Another outpost, Or Ahuvia, was established in 2023 near the Ofra settlement. Al Jazeera reported that its organisers aim to link more than 20 outposts to Ofra and create a larger settlement bloc.

The goal is therefore not simply to occupy isolated hilltops, but to establish connected communities that can grow over time.

State Backing

Although the outposts are formally unauthorised under Israeli law, Al Jazeera reported that many receive state assistance.

Israeli rights group B’Tselem says outposts can receive infrastructure, including roads, water and electricity, as well as military protection. Al Jazeera also reported that the government provides food and clothing subsidies to members of the Hilltop Youth.

Far-right politicians, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have backed settlement expansion.

Why It Matters

The “soft settlement” strategy changes the appearance of settlement expansion rather than its underlying objective.

Instead of relying primarily on the confrontational image associated with the Hilltop Youth, the Hilltop Girls present the outposts as homes and family communities. Settlers can rebuild after demolitions, allowing temporary structures to become more established over time.

The expansion is taking place alongside continued settler violence in the West Bank. Al Jazeera cited UN figures recording 2,806 settler attacks between January 2025 and May 2026, while nearly 2,000 Palestinians were displaced by settler attacks during 2026.

The Hilltop Girls therefore represent a quieter method of settlement expansion: using family life, social-media visibility and the gradual creation of permanent communities to establish a stronger Israeli presence across West Bank hilltops.