Israeli settlers, supported by the army, forcibly displaced Palestinian communities from the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank

Since 7 October 2023, the community has been gradually surrounded by new outposts and subjected to constant settler attacks.  Following the establishment of another new outpost in the middle of the community, on 2 July this year, armed settlers from the nearby "Zohar outpost” stole approximately 60 sheep and harassed the Palestinian residents in their homes. Settlers occupied one of the homes, vandalized it, and forced the residents to leave. Later that night and the day after, the remaining 25 families of the community were also left with no choice but to leave after settlers seized their homes. The land now stands empty of Palestinians. Meanwhile, photos from the site show settlers and soldiers having already taken control of the land. 

The forcible displacement of this community follows dozens of others over the past months, forming part of a long-standing, state-sanctioned process through coordinated efforts by settlers, backed by the Israeli army, to empty parts of the occupied territory in the West Bank of Palestinians.

In the south Hebron Hills, since January this year, Israeli settlers from the Carmel settlement, with the support of soldiers, have been encroaching on land belonging to the Palestinian community of Umm Al Khair. This encroachment — reportedly to establish a so-called “buffer zone” — has involved fencing off large areas of land and denying Palestinian residents access to pasture for livestock. On 29 June, an armed settler, again backed by Israeli soldiers, entered the community with his flock, seized a plot of land adjacent to a Palestinian home and declared it as his own. Since then, the same settler has harassed the community on a daily basis, attempting to enter their homes and intimidate residents.

These incidents form part of the ongoing annexation of territory, forcible transfer of Palestinians, and the transfer of Israel’s own civilian population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Such forcible transfers amount to a war crime, and a crime against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.