close
close

Statement on a new wave of settler attacks that are displacing Palestinian pastoralist communities and consolidating settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank – Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Attachments

The situation in the occupied West Bank is extremely worrying, as Israel allows and encourages an environment of fear that drives the population from their homes and off their land. Settlers, acting with the protection and support of Israeli security forces, are escalating violent attacks on pastoral communities in the southern Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley, and East Jerusalem that are surrounded by settlements and outposts. In incidents observed by the UN Human Rights Office, settlers have attacked women and children in or near their homes, set fire to and vandalized property, stolen livestock, and destroyed infrastructure to prevent the community’s access to water. Together with demolitions carried out by the Israeli Civil Administration, such attacks are forcing Palestinians to leave their land. This, in turn, contributes to the consolidation and expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the territories.

On the night of July 4, more than 200 Israeli settlers, reportedly from the Avigayil outpost, attacked the Khallet Al-Daba herding community of Masafer Yatta for about four hours, setting fields on fire, burning one house and damaging four others, attacking Palestinians with sticks and stones, destroying 30 solar panels, a water pump and an electricity generator, damaging four vehicles and stealing over 80 of their livestock, the community’s main source of income. According to eyewitnesses, the Israel Defense Forces (IF) did nothing to stop the settlers. In the southern Hebron Hills, settlers, reportedly from the Shorashim outpost, have attacked the Palestinian herding community of Umm Al-Khair daily for the past week in an attempt to force them to leave. Similarly, on July 1, settlers attacked with stones, sticks and pepper spray, injuring seven Palestinians, including four women, a 5-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, again in the presence of the ISF. In addition, on July 3, settlers destroyed the water pump that supplies water to the community. This series of incidents followed a large-scale demolition carried out by the Israeli Civil Administration on June 26, which destroyed three residential buildings, two animal enclosures and a community center and forcibly displaced 27 people, including 15 children, according to OCHA.

East of Jerusalem, the Khilet Al Sidra herding community of Mikhmas has been under increasing pressure since October 7 from settlers from surrounding outposts and settlements who blocked their access to pastureland, cut off water supplies, and physically and verbally attacked the community, threatening to harm them if they did not leave. On June 26, a mob of Israeli settlers protected and supported by the ISF allegedly stole about 20 sheep from one of the herders, claiming they belonged to them and had mixed with those of the Palestinians. Following the incident, the Palestinian community drove their livestock to the village of Mikhmas and other areas, imposing further hardship on them and threatening to make their livelihoods unsustainable.

In the Jordan Valley, Israeli settlers and ISIS soldiers raided the Ras Ein Al-Auja pastoral community on June 22 and 23, claiming that the community had stolen livestock from settlers. In a new trend of attacks, settlers and ISF raided the animal pens and confiscated 13 sheep, claiming they belonged to them, which the community denies. ISF arrested six Palestinian community members, including a woman and a child, who were the first to arrive at the site during the raid, shot at Palestinians in the air, and fired tear gas.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, such attacks fit into a long-standing trend of organized violence against Palestinians, carried out with impunity and with the support of the IF. Since October 7, however, they have shown an increase in intensity and open state support. This new wave of settler attacks comes at a time when the Israeli government is taking overt measures that could facilitate the illegal annexation of Palestinian land. These include the declaration of vast swathes of land as “state land” for settlement development1, the retroactive “legalization” of outposts and the establishment of new settlements2 – including over 5,000 housing units on July 5 – the demolition of Palestinian homes, and the transfer of administrative authority over the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from the Israeli military authority to Israeli government agencies.3

END

For further information and media enquiries, please contact [email protected]
Tag and share:
Þjórsárden @OHCHR_Palestine
Facebook UN Human Rights Palestine

1 Israel announces largest expropriation of state land in West Bank since Oslo Accords | The Times of Israel
2 Israel approves three settlement outposts and thousands of homes in West Bank | Gaza News | Al Jazeera
3 IDF transfers powers in occupied West Bank to pro-settler officials | Israel | The Guardian