Palestinians in the West Bank describe how Israeli settlers occupy land

Al-Farisiyah, West Bank – On the morning of December 17, 2023, Luai Abu Mohsen and his brother Barakat grazed their flock with herds near their residence in Al-Farisiyah, a village in the Jordan valley of the West Bank.

Within hours, an Israeli man in the settlement of Rotum drove his truck over the sheep and killed two people. He then took off his vehicle and passed the sharp object through Barakat's legs, hurting him. Israeli police and army came, but by then the settlers had left. Barakat said they did nothing to find, let alone arrest him, who was taken to a nearby hospital for a leg injury.

Abu Mohsen said it has become a frightening routine. Settlers harassed Palestinian Bedouin families who live here, while police and military viewed them in another way. Sometimes, it's even worse: they join the attack.

Ten years ago, 15 Palestinian Bedouin families lived in Al-Farisiyah, a village in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, winning the livelihoods of shepherds and farmers. Despite living in shaky steel sheds and huts that are not related to electricity or water grids, these families manage to make ends meet.

Over the years, the village was surrounded by Israeli settlements – Salit and Mehola in the north; Shadmot Mehola and Rotem to the east; and Maskiyot in the south – was demolished by Israeli authorities. In 2010, al-Farisiyah was completely destroyed with the reason its residents did not have the necessary permission to build – nearby policy settlers did not have to stick with it.

But the demolition did not stop the people of al-farisiyah. Although they had to pay a heavy price, they remained on the land: they were forced to rebuild buildings from scratch. Their children were forced to go to school in a nearby village for more than three miles each way. Only by providing water through private companies at high prices, Israeli authorities deny that they can use water sources—their settler neighbors enjoyed more opportunities.

Despite their best efforts to make a living, families began to flee when settlers began to target them and their property. It began in 2021, when settlers brought their livestock to the land of Al-Farisiyah. Then they started stealing the water tanks of their families. Soon after, the sheep began to disappear or be found dead, stabbed or shot. Soon after, settlers who were often accompanied and protected by Israeli soldiers began to stop Palestinians in the area from grazing their flocks, occupying the land for their animals to roam freely. This is according to Shamekh Daraghmeh, 49, who still lives in the community with his six-year-old family and relies on grazing a flock of 300 sheep.

When the demolition in the area was mostly failed, the pastoral settlement successfully led to the escape of Palestinian families, bringing Al-Farisiyah's number of families to five. Daraghmeh's hands and his wrinkled, tanned face proves the efforts of Palestinian Bedouin to span two worlds: the nomadic lifestyle of his ancestors and the harsh reality of forced displacement.

Farming or herder settlements have not been new or official since Israel’s war on the surrounded Gaza Strip, and began in October 2023, shortly after Hamas’ deadly invasion of Israel. It involves reducing available land for Palestinian livestock to graz, block or deny access to water supply, and using checkpoints to isolate the Jordan valley from other members of the occupied West Bank.

The settlers also took advantage of Operation Iron Wall, a series of military raids against Jenning, Turcalam and other West Bank cities and towns to attack Palestinians and their property. Since the operation started on January 21, nine Palestinians have been injured, eight vehicles and more than 120 trees, mostly olives, damaged by settlers.

Israeli authorities also declared that much of the Jordan Valley was a “fire zone” (the training zone for Israeli troops) or natural reserves, so it was nearly impossible for these pastoral communities to be legally built and access to water and electricity. However, since the October 7 attack, violence committed by settlers has intensified, which has almost made living in the Jordan valley.

“I used to be able to go to sheep grazing. Now, my tent can't go further than 50 to 100 meters. The settlers have their own livestock there and we are not allowed to be near them, so they are actually able to close hundreds of Dunam (1 Dunam = 1,000 m²), we can’t get in,” Daraghmeh said.

“Every day, settlers attack us, trying to steal our sheep.” “I myself, like everyone else, have been attacked more than once, prompting them to leave the area. But since October 7, harassment and attacks have been made,” he continued. Intensified. I was beaten and shot and the settlers told me they had no doubts about killing me.”

Amir Daoud of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Wall and Settlement Commission said the pastor’s settlement allowed settlers to take over large tracts of land without issuing military orders, which made it more dangerous than land occupation by housing units.

“For example, building settler housing may involve the occupancy of five Dundan (5,000 m2) in a specific area, but the priest settlement does not adhere to any form of boundaries – the borders of their outposts are the boundaries that their sheep can reach ,” Moral said. Today, their ranch covers almost twice as much as the architectural settlement, he added.

The settler farm is now breeding throughout the West Bank. Dodard said at least 40 pastoral outposts have been established since October 7, most of which were built on the eastern slopes of the West Bank and Jordan Valley, except in Masafer Yata near Hebron. Moral explanation says that the total number of these outposts is now 120. (The Israeli settler regulator peace now sets this number to 113).

“These pastoral outposts have become launch pads for settlers to attack, and have expelled 29 clusters of Palestinian Bedouin community since October 7,” Moral said.

The Israeli army said it does not tolerate violence and its soldiers often act against Israelis involved “violence or incidents against Palestinians and their property.” However, some Israeli settlers acknowledge that these outposts are the best way to control the land, and last year, the Israeli government provided more than $20 million to farmed outposts, even if technically unauthorized.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Dror Etkes, the leading expert in Israeli settlements, said the purpose of the pastor settlement was to push the Palestinian community out of the land, which was “part of a larger movement that allowed the Spanish in the West Bank to occupy Palestine The West Bank was maintained by herders for generations.”

Over the past two decades, Etkes has documented and monitored settlements in the West Bank, saying a model that takes over grazing areas: settlers attack Palestinians in grasslands and openness Areas include children, including the interior, their tents and sheds. After the community escapes, you will see an outpost popping up.

He said it was irrelevant whether settlers wanted to use the land for grazing. “Most importantly, grazing was deliberately used as a means of displacement and deprivation and pushed Palestinian communities away from large areas of the West Bank.”

Ax said the more isolated and smaller the Palestinian community is, the more vulnerable they attack settlers. “It’s a system,” he explained. “Once the community is forced to leave, settlers move to the next community, and so on.”

He said Israeli soldiers maintained and strengthened the system, which they usually cannot distinguish from the settlers themselves: “Nothing will happen in the West Bank without the participation of the military. These outposts are equipped and tolerated by the military.

The army is the main player. ”

The pastor’s settlement was fueled by the latest changes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition. In May, as part of an agreement to consolidate Netanyahu's rule, the Israeli military shifted civil governance responsibilities in the West Bank from civil administration and military coordination departments, Kogat (coordinator of government activities on the territory) ) Transformed into a new portfolio The Ministry of Defense is supervised by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Smotrich is one of the toughest figures in Israeli politics today. His ideology was shaped by a super-large-minded vision of theocraticism that prioritized Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. His party, religious Zionism, represented the radical margin of the Israeli right, combining religious fundamentalism with expansionist policies. His position and Kahaanists The ideology is named after Meir Kahane's extremist movement, which calls for the expulsion or conquest of Palestinians.

Smotrich has also long used the abolition of the civil affairs government as a means to further expand and develop settlements, thus expanding Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, with annexation being the ultimate goal. Recently, Smotrich himself was a well-known settler – hoping that the new term led by President Donald Trump will be to support plans to formally annex the occupied West Bank by 2025. If this happens, many Palestinians will be displaced or fired.

“I have directed the start of professional work to prepare the necessary infrastructure to carry out Israeli sovereignty over the Jews and Samaritans,” he said. “I have no doubt that President Trump was in his first place The president who demonstrates courage and determination in his decisions during his term will support Israel's country in this move.”

Israel’s claim to sovereignty in the West Bank recognized by the second Trump administration in the West Bank has precedent, given that the president recognized the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as an official part of the state during his previous years. The region is recognized by the international community as part of southern Syria and was officially annexed by Israel in 2019, a settlement named after Trump himself.

Such a move would likely mean that Darager's family, as well as many others throughout the West Bank, whose residences were demolished (again) and whose land was formally forbidden by military order. According to Wall and the Settlements Commission, a total of 24 Palestinian Bedouin communities, composed of 266 families (1,517 people), have been forcibly displaced from their areas since October 2023.

Daraghmeh is worried that his family is next. They had already stolen tents, tools, water tanks and items that he thought would not be the last attempt by settlers to intimidate them from the area.

“We live in a miserable state,” he said. “We are surrounded by settlers and their cattle and livestock. They are starting to grazle where our cattle and sheep have been grazing for many years. We are constantly under attacks and threats from the daily recent days. Shortly after October 7 (2023), a settler chased me to the tent and said, “We are in war now. If I see you again, I will shoot you. I believe in him. ”