Israeli government funnels millions of shekels to sanctioned settlement group

Israel’s Ministry of National Security, headed by far right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, is set to transfer four million shekels ($1.31m) to a sanctioned group which supports illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media is reporting.

Ahavat Gilad ("Love of Gilad") was among six firms sanctioned by France, the UK, Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand in June, after it was revealed that it had been involved in facilitating and financing a spike in settler violence across the West Bank.

Ahavat Gilad was sanctioned after it was found that it transferred donations raised by the Farms Union, which provides financial and organisational support to settler farms, directly to illegal outposts.

Haaretz reported, citing documents submitted by the Ministry of National Security, that the money is intended to “reduce incidents of violence" and to "establish a network of mentors to accompany youth staying on farms throughout Judea and Samaria".

The sum will be paid out over the course of a year and a half, with the possibility of an extension.

The move comes after the government approved a “national plan” in May to address what it described as a “negative phenomenon among youth” in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge in settler attacks on Palestinians.

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