‘The settlers brought the violence’: the ethnic cleansing of a West Bank village
The Guardian • • world
Key Points:
- Palestinian Bedouin families in the South Jordan Valley, including Mahmoud Eshaq’s community, are being forcibly displaced due to escalating settler violence such as arson, theft, and intimidation, with entire villages abandoned under pressure.
- Israeli settlers now control over 250 square kilometers of land in the area, historically inhabited by Bedouin herders and designated by the international community as part of a future Palestinian state, facilitated by state-backed settler activities and near-impunity for violence.
- The displacement campaign intensified after the outbreak of the Gaza war, with young settlers, often minors, playing a key role in land seizure and intimidation tactics, supported by far-right Israeli politicians and security forces that frequently ignore or enable settler attacks.
