Israeli Settlers Seize Eight Homes in Jericho as UN Condemns Attacks

Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP via Al Jazeera

Dozens of Palestinians fled their homes in Jericho this week after Israeli settlers moved in and took over eight houses. The United Nations condemned the seizure, saying settlers used live fire and beat residents, and the families who left now have nowhere proper to sleep.

About 30 settlers arrived at Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta, on the edge of Jericho, on Wednesday afternoon and took over the eight houses, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now. The families who lived there left in a hurry, and many have been afraid to go back since.

The United Nations spoke out on Thursday. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, told reporters the settlers reportedly used live ammunition during the takeover, and also physically assaulted Palestinian residents and threw stones, prompting the flight of families for their safety.

Some of those forced out now lack adequate shelter, Dujarric said, and the Israeli military has since declared the area a closed military zone, which stops humanitarian workers from reaching the people affected. "We once again condemn all of these violent activities by the Israeli settlers," he said.

Peace Now said the settlers also assaulted and robbed two Israeli activists during the seizure, and shot a Palestinian man in the leg. Residents of the area told reporters that 65 people fled their homes after settlers pelted them with stones.

The settlers say they bought the homes legally. Hanan Greenwood, a settler representative, told the AFP news agency that Nachala, a right wing Israeli organisation, had bought the eight homes with our help. He said he was very excited to be there. Nachala funds the setting up of new settlements in the occupied West Bank and campaigns for Israel to annex the territory.

Palestinian officials say the sale papers are fake. Hussein Hamayel, governor of the Jericho region, told AFP the land belongs to the Palestinian Authority and cannot be sold. "What is being promoted is a forgery, not a sale, and what is being circulated is settler propaganda," he said.

The land sits in Area C of the West Bank, which has been under Israeli control since the Oslo Accords of the 1990s. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and more than 500,000 Israelis now live in settlements there, which are illegal under international law.

This is the second settler attack on Palestinian land in the Jericho and Ramallah area in two days. On Wednesday night, settlers set fire to an olive grove near Ramallah, and the UN says settler attacks have reached near record levels this year. Since the olive harvest began in September, the UN has counted 377 settler attacks that caused casualties or damage to Palestinian property, with one Palestinian killed, more than 200 injured, and over 3,850 olive trees and saplings damaged or destroyed.

Several Palestinian communities around Jericho have already been driven from their homes this year, and residents say they fear the new settlers will bring more attacks and a heavier military presence. That is what happened in Hebron, where about 400 settlers live in the Old City among some 250,000 Palestinians, and where Peace Now says the settler presence has led to constant friction and violence, severe limits on Palestinian movement, and the displacement of thousands of Palestinians.

The families from Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta are still waiting to be allowed back, and the army has given no date for lifting the closed zone.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Israeli settlers seize 8 Palestinian homes in Jericho, displacing dozens
• Times of Israel: After settlers enter Jericho area, Palestinian residents flee homes
• Palestine Chronicle: Israel pushes E1 settlement project as UN condemns settler seizure of Palestinian homes

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