ABSTRACT
The chapter presents the characteristics of the Jewish vigilantism in the West Bank with a special emphasis on its various ideological and organizational features. It outlines the diverse patterns of this phenomenon and the various agendas behind it. It explores the formal and informal cooperation between the Jewish settlers and Israeli state officials, including Israeli soldiers. Consequently, it argues that the ambiguity surrounding the formal status of the Israeli state in the occupied territories creates a governmental void. This void is filled by greater freedom of action for the settlers, who, in effect, act as informal agents of the state, behaving as vigilantes and taking the law into their own hands.
