At least 50 Palestinian families from the Arab Mleihat Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank have been forced to flee their homes due to repeated assaults and harassment from Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli forces.
The families, numbering around 500 people, were previously living in a community of 85 families northwest of Jericho. Thirty Palestinian families were forcibly displaced on Friday morning, while 20 others were displaced on Thursday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
A Palestinian rights group, the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, stated that the families were forced to leave after years of trying to defend themselves “without any support”.
Attacks by Israeli forces and Israelis from illegal settlements have surged across the occupied West Bank since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. Alia Mleihat recounted that her family was forced to flee to the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, south of Jericho, after armed settlers threatened her and other families at gunpoint.
Mahmoud Mleihat, a 50-year-old father of seven from the community, shared his frustration, saying, “The settlers are armed and attack us, and the [Israeli] military protects them. We can’t do anything to stop them.” Hassan Mleihat, director of the Al-Baidar Organization, added that the families began dismantling their tents following sustained provocation and attacks by Israeli settlers and the army. Footage verified by Sanad agency showed trucks loaded with possessions driving away from the area at night.
Hassan Mleihat described the situation as dire, stating that the attacks threatened to erase the community and “open the way for illegal colonial expansion”. The forced displacement has sparked concern, with many describing it as a “new Nakba”, referring to the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes during the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.
“We want to protect our children, and we’ve decided to leave,” Mahmoud Mleihat said, describing the decision as a great injustice. He had lived in the community since he was 10 years old. Alia Mleihat added that the Bedouin community, which had lived in the area for 40 years, would now be scattered across different parts of the Jordan Valley, including nearby Jericho.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned violence by civilians, stating that individuals should not take the law into their own hands. However, activists argue that Israeli settlement expansion has accelerated in recent years, displacing Palestinians who have remained on their land under military occupation since Israel captured the occupied West Bank in the 1967 war. Most countries consider Israeli settlements illegal and a violation of the Geneva Conventions.