The Plight of Umm Al-Khair: A Bedouin Village Under Siege
The West Bank Bedouin village of Umm Al-Khair has been facing a series of devastating challenges in recent times, with Israeli military bulldozers tearing down a quarter of the homes and settler attacks leaving dozens of people homeless and without basic necessities like water and electricity. The situation has left the residents feeling helpless and abandoned, with one villager, Yasser Hathaleen, asking, “Where shall I go? To whom do I complain? I want a law to protect me. Where are the people of law?”
The escalating violence and demolitions faced by Bedouin communities in the West Bank are not new, but they have intensified in recent years, especially since the start of the war in Gaza. Settler violence has surged across the West Bank, with settlers targeting villages like Umm Al-Khair with impunity. The presence of settler advocates in key Israeli Cabinet positions has only exacerbated the situation, giving settlers greater control over the fate of Bedouin communities in the territory.
Residents of Umm Al-Khair describe the escalating attacks by settlers, which began in the 1980s after the establishment of the Carmel settlement just meters away from the village. The situation worsened when settlers set up an unauthorized outpost called “Roots Farm” on a nearby hilltop, leading to daily attacks and harassment of the villagers. In a particularly brutal incident on July 1, settlers injured about 10 people in the village with sticks and pepper spray, leaving women struggling to breathe on the ground.
Videos taken by Palestinians in the village showed settlers tampering with the village’s water pipes as Israeli soldiers looked on, further exacerbating the residents’ plight. The residents believe that both the settlers and the state are working towards the same goal of expelling them from their lands, despite their long history in the area dating back to their expulsion from the Negev during the “Nakba.”
The crisis in Umm Al-Khair is part of a larger pattern of settler violence and land grabs in the West Bank, with unauthorized outposts expanding and settlements being legalized by the Israeli government. The UN has documented a sharp increase in settler attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, displacing hundreds of Palestinians from their homes and causing widespread fear and chaos among the residents.
The legality of structures in Umm Al-Khair is disputed, with Israeli authorities claiming that they were built illegally and in violation of the law. Palestinians argue that obtaining Israeli permission to build in the West Bank is nearly impossible, leading to a cycle of demolitions and rebuilding by the residents who refuse to be driven from their lands.
Despite the challenges they face, the residents of Umm Al-Khair remain resilient and determined to stay on their land. As shepherd Bilal Hathaleen defiantly stated, “They knock down our homes, and then we rebuild. They come to knock them down again, so we will rebuild. We are not going anywhere.”
The plight of Umm Al-Khair serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by Bedouin communities in the West Bank and the urgent need for international attention and action to address the root causes of violence and displacement in the region.