Israel Defense Forces Col. (res.) Avichai Tanami has been named project coordinator to combat the phenomenon of extremist Jewish youth in Judea and Samaria. Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the appointment on Tuesday.
Tanami’s appointment came some six months after Katz announced an end to the administrative detention without charges of Israeli citizens.
“We are introducing alternative, constructive tools to address this issue—replacing the extreme use of administrative detention orders, which I abolished and strongly oppose,” Katz said in a statement by his office.
“I wish Avichai great success in this mission,” Katz continued. “He will have our full support and the resources needed to confront the Hilltop Youth phenomenon in the most effective and respectful manner.”
The appointment was made in coordination with the National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s Office, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and other official bodies.
Tanami thanked Katz for his “support and trust,” declaring: “I accept this national mission with humility and a deep sense of responsibility, fully aware of the sensitivity and the human lives involved.”
Tanami, a resident of the southern Samaria village of Eli, is a renowned educator who served in the elite General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal). He is a graduate of the Bnei David religious pre-military academy in Eli.
The IDF recorded 663 instances of violence by Jews against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria last year, a 34% decrease compared to 2023, when 1,005 incidents were recorded.
There were 6,343 Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews in 2024, killing 27 Israelis and wounding 300 others.
Canada and Australia have both imposed sanctions on the Hilltop Youth, despite it being a loosely organized group of young activists.
