Palestinians Displaced in West Bank by Israeli Settlers Ask: Where Can We Go?

Settlers have destroyed homes in the West Bank, forcibly displacing Palestinians from nearly 50 Bedouin communities.

By Theia Chatelle , Truthout, August 9, 2025

u’arrajat is one of the many Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank that have been demolished or forcibly displaced by Israeli settlers in the last year. Aliya Milhat, a Palestinian journalist and activist, lived in Mu’arrajat with her family until they were forcibly displaced in March.

“My family and I were forced out under gun threats [sic], along with all the families of the village,” Milhat told Truthout. “We cried over our beautiful days there, and we are still crying. We are in shock because we never deserved this. We are peaceful people who love life, simple and educated people, and we never imagined leaving our home this way.”

Residents attempted to return to the village last week, after Israel’s High Court ruled that the Israeli military must facilitate their return, but they were repelled by Israeli settlers who set fire to one of the remaining homes.

The expulsion in March was the culmination of years of violence by Israeli settlers and the Israeli military, working in tandem to ensure that life in Mu’arrajat was all but impossible for its residents until they were forcibly expelled. Milhat told Truthout that the primary cause of their displacement was the Zohar Tzafon outpost, a type of illegal Israeli settlement typically built on a hilltop in the West Bank, with another satellite outpost built just outside the village last year. Oftentimes a distinction is drawn between Israeli settlers committing acts of violence in the West Bank and official Israeli policy, but without the financial support of the Israeli government, the expansion of settlements and outposts in the West Bank over the last decade would not have been possible, as Haaretz concluded in an investigation last year.

Israeli settlers would often invade the village under the protection of the Israeli military, set fire to residents’ homes, block access to their water source, and attack their livestock. “Imagine a settler living in the yard of your house, while the army protects them, and we are left alone with no one to stand with us. Families were forced to leave because settlers were even walking around naked in front of women,” Milhat said……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

In a stark example of the impunity with which Israeli settlers operate in the West Bank, Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen was killed by Israeli settler Yinon Levi on July 28. Hathaleen was involved in the production of the Oscar-winning Israeli-Palestinian documentary, No Other Land. Israeli forces held Hathaleen’s body for 10 days, telling residents they would not allow him to be buried in his village of Umm al-Kheir. After 60 women in the village went on a hunger strike demanding the release of his body, Israeli forces relented but added additional checkpoints in and out of the village during his funeral.

The situation has only grown more dire since his death, according to Andrey X. “Two days after his murder, there has been a lot of pressure on the village, and most prominently, the army conducted two night raids and kidnapped 16 family members,” he said. “Each of them had to pay a 500-shekel fine, just for existing as Palestinians. And they’re banned from talking to each other about the incident for 60 days, and they’re banned from approaching the settlement of Carmel for 60 days.”

Carmel is located almost on top of Umm al-Kheir, and it is impossible for Palestinians to both live in the village and comply with the order, indicating that Israeli authorities wish for residents to flee. This appears to be the endgame for Israeli authorities — as was reported by +972 Magazine in June, Israel’s Civil Administration intends to demolish 12 villages in Masafer Yatta under the declaration that they were built in an Israeli “firing zone.” As Andrey X told Truthout, “This is kind of a statement that I make in every interview once every few weeks. The situation is bad, and it has been getting worse, and it will continue to get worse.” https://truthout.org/articles/palestinians-displaced-in-west-bank-by-israeli-settlers-ask-where-can-we-go/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=6063340402-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_08_10_02_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-6063340402-650192793