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West Bank Dispatch: Over 170 Palestinians forcibly expelled from Ein Samiya
This week, an entire Palestinian community was forcibly expelled from the village of Ein Samiya following months of settler attacks and years harsh Israeli policies.
Key Developments May 23 – May 25
- Israeli forces punitively blew up the home of slain Palestinian Mutaz Khawaja in the village of Ni’lin, in the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah on Tuesday, May 23. Khawaja’s family home was located on the second floor of an apartment building, and was home to five people. According to Wafa news agency, a large number of Israeli troops raided the village of Ni’lin, sparking confrontations with local residents. Israeli forces reportedly fired live ammunition and tear gas at locals, injuring two people. Khawaja was killed in March 2023 after he carried out a shooting that killed one Israeli and injured at least one other on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv. Israel’s policy of punitive home demolitions have long been criticized by human rights groups as “court sanctioned revenge” against Palestinian families, and a form of collective punishment. Israel claims the policy to be a “deterrent” measure against “terrorism”, but Israeli military officials have previously made recommendations to the government that the practice did not in fact deter attacks against Israelis.
- According to local Palestinian groups, at least 33 Palestinians were arrested, and more than a dozen others were injured between Tuesday and Thursday during Israeli military raids in the West Bank. Of those, 14 Palestinians were arrested and 13 were injured by Israeli forces during an army raid on the Aqbat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho on Thursday May 25. The 13 injuries were all with live ammunition in the lower extremities, including at least one in critical condition. The Aqbat Jaber refugee camp has been subjected to a number of deadly Israeli raids since the start of the year, when a new armed resistance group was born in the camp. At least seven Palestinians have been killed in Aqbat Jaber so far in 2023.
- This week the families of Ein Samiya, in the Ramallah district of the occupied West Bank, packed up their things and left their village, following months of settler attacks, and repeated demolitions of their homes by Israeli forces. In total, 172 Palestinians were forced out of their homes.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem released a statement saying: “Israel has made their lives unbearable, leaving residents with no other choice. For years, residents of the community have suffered from violence carried out by Israeli forces, from settler violence carried out with the full backing of the State, and from extreme restrictions on building homes and infrastructure, as well as demolitions. The community’s school is set to be demolished soon, following a recent court approval. Israel’s policy, which aims to allow the state to take over more and more Palestinian land to be used by Jews, is applied across the West Bank against dozens of Palestinian communities. This policy is illegal. Forcible transfer is a war crime.”
- Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian land and property in the village of Burqa in the Nablus area on Wednesday, May 24, following a visit by EU delegates to the area around the illegal Homesh settlement, which is built on Burqa’s land. During the settler attack, which reportedly took place under the presence of Israeli soldiers, local youth from Burqa confronted settlers and soldiers, and were met with tear gas and live ammunition, injuring four people. The attacks on Burqa and the visit by EU delegates came amidst calls from the EU and US for Israel to stop plans to reestablish the Homesh settlement, which was evacuated back in 2005. Last week the chief of the Israeli military’s Central Command approved an order allowing Israelis to enter the illegal outpost, which typically attracts some of the most violent and extremist Israeli settlers. On Thursday, May 25, Israeli settlers returned to Burqa with a bulldozer and began razing lands near Homesh – land that is owned by Palestinians from the village.
Mondoweiss highlights
Key Figures
- 153 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza since the start of the year
- Of those killed in 2023, 26 are children