Dozens of Palestinian Bedouin families flee Israeli violence in West Bank

Repeated assaults and harassment by Israeli settlers and forces has surged since the warfare connected Gaza began successful October 2023.

At slightest 50 Palestinian families from a Bedouin assemblage successful the occupied West Bank person fled their homes, pursuing repeated assaults and harassment from Israeli settlers nether the extortion of Israeli forces, according to media reports and a section rights group.

Thirty Palestinian families were forcibly displaced connected Friday greeting from the Arab Mleihat Bedouin community, northwest of Jericho, the Palestinian quality bureau Wafa reported, portion 20 others were displaced connected Thursday.

Before the forced displacement, the assemblage was location to 85 families, numbering astir 500 people.

A Palestinian rights group, the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said the families were forced to permission aft years trying to support themselves “without immoderate support”. Attacks by Israeli forces and Israelis from amerciable settlements person surged crossed the occupied West Bank since Israel’s war connected Gaza began connected October 7, 2023.

Alia Mleihat told Wafa that her household was forced to fly to the Aqbat Jabr exile camp, southbound of Jericho, aft equipped settlers threatened her and different families astatine gunpoint.

Separately, Mahmoud Mleihat, a 50-year-old begetter of 7 from the community, told the Reuters quality bureau that they could not instrumentality it immoderate more, truthful they decided to leave.

“The settlers are equipped and onslaught us, and the [Israeli] subject protects them. We can’t bash thing to halt them,” helium said.

Hassan Mleihat, manager of the Al-Baidar Organization, said families successful the assemblage began dismantling their tents, pursuing sustained provocation and attacks by Israeli settlers and the army.

Footage posted connected societal media and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad bureau showed trucks loaded with possessions driving distant from the country astatine night.

Hassan told Wafa that the attacks besides threatened to erase the community, and “open the mode for amerciable assemblage expansion”.

‘We privation to support our children’

Israeli quality rights radical B’Tselem has documented repeated acts of unit by Israeli settlers against Palestinians successful Mu’arrajat, adjacent Jericho, wherever the Mleihat people lives.

In 2024, settlers equipped with clubs stormed a Palestinian school, portion successful 2023, equipped settlers blocked the way of vehicles carrying Palestinians, with immoderate firing into the aerial and others hurling stones astatine the vehicles.

“We privation to support our children, and we’ve decided to leave,” Mahmoud said, describing it arsenic a large injustice.

He had lived successful the assemblage since helium was 10, Mahmoud said.

Alia Mleihat told Reuters the Bedouin community, which had lived determination for 40 years, would present beryllium scattered crossed antithetic parts of the Jordan Valley, including adjacent Jericho.

“People are demolishing their ain homes with their ain hands, leaving this colony they’ve lived successful for decades, the spot wherever their dreams were built,” she said, describing the forced displacement of 30 families arsenic a “new Nakba”.

The Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” successful Arabic, refers to the wide displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes during 1948 astatine the commencement of the authorities of Israel.

Israel’s subject has not yet commented connected the settler harassment faced by the Bedouin families oregon astir the families leaving their community.

Asked astir unit successful the occupied West Bank, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters connected Monday that immoderate acts of unit by civilians were unacceptable and that individuals should not instrumentality the instrumentality into their ain hands.

Activists accidental Israeli colony enlargement has accelerated successful caller years, displacing Palestinians, who person remained connected their onshore nether subject concern since Israel captured the occupied West Bank successful the 1967 war.

Most countries see Israeli settlements amerciable and a usurpation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibition settling civilians connected occupied land.