Masafer Yatta, an example of an Israeli policy aimed at -cleansing and sterilizing- the area of Palestinians.

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that in accordance to a report by Haaretz stated that the Israeli occupation announced on June 17 that the so-called ‘Firing Zone 918’ in Masafer Yatta, which includes 12 Palestinian villages, was ‘necessary for live-fire training’ and must be completely ‘cleaned’ of buildings and residents and turned into a ‘sterile area’, In a stance submitted to the Israeli Supreme Court by the so-called ‘Central Command’ in response to a petition submitted by residents through attorney Netta Amar-Shift against the demolition of public facilities in one of the villages, the position was that the presence of Palestinian buildings in the area hinders military training, and that the inability to conduct training at the site has harmed the army s combat readiness. In 2022, the same Supreme Court had issued a ruling authorizing the occupation state to displace the villagers. However, the military noted that the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war, have prevented the implementation of the displacement order to date.
The above announcement and the recent discussion in the Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration to expedite the eviction and demolition of buildings clearly indicate that the ‘decisive plan’ promoted by Bezalel Smotrich is proceeding with government sponsorship, and that the ‘cleansing and sterilization’ order has been finalized for the residents of the Masafer Yatta villages, home to about 1,200 people, who live in an area declared a ‘firing zone’ by the Israeli occupation authorities since the 1980s.
Following the court s ruling on the possibility of eviction, the army conducted a training exercise that included live fire, but it was halted at the time. The Israeli occupation authorities response submitted to the court at the time stated that the training would not resume until the area was transformed into a "sterile area that allows live fire without endangering the lives of the residents’.
This ‘cleansing and sterilization’ decision entails the destruction of more than 300 residential and agricultural facilities, in addition to livestock pens, four schools, three health clinics, two mosques, public facilities, and a water network. This practically means that the occupation is planning to demolish the property of citizens in these villages, as happened recently in Khallet al-Dabaa, where the occupation demolished more than 35 facilities, tents, homes, and pens in two stages last month. It was declared a closed military zone after Palestinians were prevented from entering it, with the exception of settlers, of course, who have recently blatantly escalated their attacks on citizens and have become one of the tools of ‘cleansing and sterilization.’
The Masafer Yatta Village Council head Nidal Abu Aram said in this regard that the council is no longer able to document all attacks as before, due to their significant increase. He pointed out that more than 400 attacks on crops have been recorded since the beginning of the year, compared to only 10 in 2022, and that this is just an example, but not an exhaustive list of violations. He explained that ‘daily attacks range between 25 and 30, targeting residents, pastures, livestock, water networks, vehicles, homes, bulldozing, and notifications,’ noting that more than 90% of the attacks are carried out by settlers. According to Council, there are at least 25 pending building plans in several villages - including Janba, Halawa, and Fakhit - that will soon be rejected, potentially leading to widespread demolitions.
The resorting to Israeli courts is pointless, yet citizens resort to these courts as a last resort. Attorney Netta Amar-Shift, who represents residents of the area, filed a petition on behalf of the residents of the Fakhit village, demanding that a school serving 140 students and a health clinic serving 300 residents not be demolished. The occupying state responded by rejecting the petition, claiming that the buildings were built without a permit, according to Haaretz. The Supreme Planning Council had previously discussed the demolition of a group of old buildings in the area.
Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the residents expulsion was legal, the occupation authorities, according to attorney Amar-Shift, cannot carry out the demolition as long as the planning procedures for those buildings have not been completed. According to attorney Amar-Shift, it was therefore decided that the army s position would be the decisive authority in future planning decisions, paving the way for accelerating the rejection of requests and the demolition of existing buildings. On this basis, the occupation authorities have escalated demolition operations in recent months in Masafer Yatta, starting from the village of Khallet al-Daba, where the Civil Administration demolished 25 structures last May, including six residential caves, ten water tanks, and seven wells.
Two weeks ago, it demolished additional structures, including tents, toilets, homes, and water and electricity infrastructure, while The occupation army turns a blind eye to the illegal outposts established unimpeded within Firing Zone 918. According to Peace Now, nine outposts have been established within the zone, seven of which are located entirely within its boundaries, and two whose buildings extend into the area declared a firing zone. In practice, research conducted by the Israeli NGO Kerem Navot shows that despite the army declaring approximately one million dunams – a fifth of the West Bank’s area – as firing zones, 80% of that land remains unused for military purposes.
The Masafer Yatta area, as is well known, includes the area south of the Yatta city, between bypass road 317 and the 1949 Armistice Line to the south. It has become one of the most targeted areas by the occupation forces and settler militias, with a clear objective: to empty the area of its residents after imposing a coercive and repellent environment on them. This area, which is fully classified as Area C, has an area of 57,000 dunams and consists of 23 ruins and villages between the people of Yatta and the Bedouins who were displaced from the areas of Beer-Alsabe’a and the Naqab.
In addition to all of this, the settlers, under the auspices of the official establishment in the occupying state, established a large number of settlements and outposts, which form a belt around the region. They declared an area of 32 thousand dunams of Masafer Yatta as a military training area, while only 3% of the total declared area is used for military training purposes. There are 17 Palestinian communities in the declared military training area: Jenba, Al-Markaz, Halawa, Khirbet Al-Fakhit, Khirbet Al-Tabbaneh, Khirbet Al-Majaz, Safi Al-Fuqa, Safi Al-Tahta, Maghayer Al-Ubaid, Tuba, Khallet Al-Dabaa, Al-Kharouba, Khirbet Al-Mufaqara, Khirbet Sarura, Al-Rakeez, and Bir Al-Ad.
The ‘cleansing and sterilization’ of Masafer Yatta of Palestinians, in the army s parlance, is taking place alongside the seizure of Palestinian lands in the area. In this context, last week, the occupation authorities notified the Masafer Yatta village council of the seizure of hundreds of dunams of citizens land and a number of vital roads, for the purpose of expanding settlements and connecting them to the settlement road network. They are preventing citizens from using´-or-accessing these roads, particularly the roads linking the village communities in the area. According to these notifications, the road between the villages of Janba and Bir al-Ad has been seized, depriving residents and farmers of access to hundreds of dunams.
This is intended to connect the Metzair settlement to Bypass Road 317, in preparation for its expansion at the expense of Palestinian lands. Another decision by the occupation included seizing the road between the Wadi Ma in and Umm al-Shaqhan areas, in addition to seizing approximately three dunams of land belonging to the Jabarin family under the pretext of "military use," preventing landowners from accessing about 700 dunams planted with olive trees. The occupation authorities also issued a new decision to seize large areas of land for the purpose of paving a new settlement road around the ‘Gara at Hanan’ settlement, which was illegally established about four years ago, and to seize an agricultural road in the Tha la area to connect the ‘Havat Ma on" settlement to the 317 bypass road, and to seize areas of land there.
The talking about ‘displacement and eviction’ isn’t-limit-ed to Masafer Yatta. In the villages of Numan, Um Tuba, and Silwan in East Jerusalem, some 320 Palestinian residents face the risk of displacement from their homes. The Israeli organization Ir Amim, which specializes in Jerusalem affairs, stated, ‘Over the past year and a half, the displacement and forced eviction of Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank has escalated.” In recent weeks, especially in light of the escalation with Iran, Israeli authorities have taken additional steps against three communities in East Jerusalem that are at risk of displacement from their homes and lands, according to the organization.
On June 10, the Jerusalem Municipality s Building Enforcement Unit distributed notices to all the homes in the small village of Nu man, claiming they were built illegally and demanding their owners immediately demolish them. As a result, approximately 150 people face the risk of displacement. In Umm Tuba, the Israel Land Authority issued notices to 18 homes ‘comprising 35 housing units’, claiming they were built on Jewish National Fund land. The authorities demanded that the families vacate their properties within 30 days. 150 people now face displacement from their homes and lands. In the Batn al-Hawa Neighborhood of Silwan, on June 16, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected three families requests to appeal their pending eviction, ruling in favor of the Ateret Cohanim settler association. Nineteen people are now at risk of immediate displacement.
In a dangerous escalation, the occupation army is considering, for the first time since the Second Intifada, the return of a permanent Jewish presence at Joseph s Tomb in the heart of Nablus, 25 years after its evacuation, Yedioth Ahronoth reported recently. According to the newspaper, the Israeli Army Central Command is preparing an official plan on the practical feasibility of such a move. In this context, an expanded conference was held last week in the Knesset, attended by ministers, MKs, and public figures, with the aim of exerting additional pressure at the political and military levels to advance the plan to return to the site.
The Subcommittee on West Bank Affairs of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee held its first session to discuss the security situation at Yosif Tomb. The session was attended by Yossi Dagan, head of the Northern West Bank Settlement Council-;- MK Zvi Sukkot, who heads the committee-;- and Lieutenant Colonel Lahat Shemesh, deputy head of the Civil Administration-;- along with representatives of the security establishment. During the session, a representative of the Central Command pledged to provide a detailed assessment within six weeks. Settler leaders stress the need to expedite the implementation of the plan, fearing the possibility of dissolving the Knesset and heading to new elections, which could disrupt their project.
On another note, the Israeli occupation army acknowledged a sharp increase in settler terrorism in the West Bank. Its data showed a 30% increase in what it calls "nationalist crimes" carried out by Jews in the West Bank during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year. According to the data, reported by the Israeli army radio, 414 terrorist attacks by settlers have been recorded since the beginning of the year, compared to 318 in the same period in 2024, and 679 attacks in all of last year.
According to Army Radio and Yedioth Ahronoth., the attacks include arson, racist graffiti, stone-throwing, physical assaults, and vandalism. A senior army officer confirmed that ‘the increase is not-limit-ed to numbers alone, but also includes the severity of the incidents,’ which have become more violent and extreme. The release of these figures follows recent violent attacks carried out by settlers and members of the ‘Hilltop Youth’ in the Ramallah district, which also targeted Israeli occupation soldiers. A senior officer told Army Radio, ‘these events have crossed all red lines,’ warning that they ‘could ignite a prolonged wave of violence in the West Bank.’
Although the army maintains that its forces ‘acted with restraint and-limit-ed themselves to means of dispersing demonstrations, including firing warning shots in the air," the official narrative has been challenged by leaders on the Israeli right. Finance Minister and cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich stated that ‘shooting Jews with live fire is a serious violation that requires a thorough investigation and individual conclusions.’ Thus, it appears that the web of interests between settlers, politicians, and the military has become so complex, reaching its peak in the current government, that dismantling it requires a radical political shift.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Notifying the Burqan family in the Wadi Yasul Neighborhood, Silwan town to forcibly demolish their 100M2 under the pretext of building without a permit. The family was given until next Wednesday to carry out the demolition themselves. They also notified the demolition of the home of citizen Musa Nihad Badran in the Al-Bustan Neighborhood in the town of town, giving him 21 days to carry out the demolition himself, under penalty of bearing the demolition costs if he fails to carry out the decision.
- Injuring 3 citizens in the town of Hizma, by settler bullets after they stormed the eastern area of the town and burned a citizen s agricultural hut, while occupation forces were stationed on the main street overlooking the area to provide protection for the attack.
Hebron:
- Uprooting more than 150 olive seedlings in the Ighziwa area of Yatta, near the village of Susya, and vandalized part of the fence surrounding the land.
- Cutting a fence in Khirbet al-Rakeez, surrounding the land of Saeed al-Amour and grazed their livestock among his crops and trees. In the village of Susya, 17-year-old Adi Jihad al-Nawaj’a sustained bruises and various wounds after being attacked by settlers. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. An elderly man was also injured after being beaten during the attack, and ambulance crews transferred him to Yatta Governmental Hospital for treatment.
- Injuring 4 citizens, including a woman in the village of Um al-Khair, and bruised in a similar attack by armed settlers wearing occupation forces uniforms.
- Demolishing a 50m2 agricultural room belonging to Ahmed Abu Subha in Khallet al-Fara, west of Yatta, and bulldozed agricultural lands in the vicinity, while others attacked the home of Moh’d Abdullah Ubaid in the Ikhlaal al-Hummus area, southeast of Yatta, smashing its windows and stealing furniture and equipment, in addition to the cell phones of his wife and son, to prevent them from documenting the attack.
- Burning hundreds of dunams planted with grapevines, almond trees, olive trees and other trees in the Sa ir town, and seized 96 sheep belonging to a citizen from the town. Erecting tents on a plot of land in the Aqabat al-Sabarneh area in the town of Beit Ommar, on an area of 28 dunums planted with almond and grape trees.
- Handing over demolishing order to the Palestine Mixed Elementary School that consists of 9 classrooms and health units, and is built of bricks, and to stop work on 5 other homes.
Bethlehem:
- Bulldozing agricultural lands east of Bethlehem after storming the Bir al-Sahl area, located between the villages of Kisan and al-Rashaydeh, and also located between the settlements of Amos and Avi Yanhal, to pave settlement roads and expand two settlements, despite the legal objections of the owners. The land area is approximately 400 dunams, belonging to the al-Ta amra and al-Rashaydeh families. The residents use it to grow rain-fed crops such as wheat and barley, in addition to the presence of about 400 perennial olive trees.
- Demolishing agricultural room in the village of Husan, belonging to Fadi Salim Shusha, in the Ein al-Balad area to the west, under the pretext of not having a permit.
Ramallah:
- Setting up mobile homes on Mount Al-Asur in the village of Kafr Malik, with the aim of establishing a new settlement outpost in the area, as a prelude to expansion at the expense of citizens lands and the expulsion of Bedouin communities in the area.
- Attacking the Al-Mughayyir village from the eastern side, but citizens confronted them and forced them to leave. Others attacked citizens on their agricultural lands in the town of Shuqba and expelled citizens from the land owned by one of them northwest of the town, under the threat of a machine gun that one of them had in his possession. Settlers are seeking to control water wells located in the Ein Samia - Kafr Malik area, which are considered one of the most important water sources that supply the Jerusalem Water Authority, and removed the sign bearing the name of the Authority. A few days ago, they broke the main water line in Well No. 6, which is one of the most important wells in the Ein Samia area.
- Storming agricultural lands in the ‘Al-Tall’ area in the town of Sinjil, south of the town and tried to advance towards the town. Confrontatios broke out with stones after residents noticed the incursion and worked to prevent the settlers from reaching the homes, while others set fire to farmers lands in the Bab al-Wad area, causing a fire to break out in areas of cultivated land, and obstructing citizens access to the area to extinguish it.
Nablus:
- Setting up a tent and attacked the Sufan family s home south of Burin village, throwing stones at it. They also set up a tent opposite.
- Storming Yosif s Tomb, where they performed Talmudic rituals and vandalized public and private property on Jerusalem Street, sparking clashes with residents who tried to confront them.
- Bulldozing agricultural land in the Jabal Qarqafah area in the Aqraba town with the aim of seizing it for settlement expansion.
- Storming Khirbet al-Tawil and began demolishing 5ive homes, four agricultural structures, a number of sheep pens, and health units. Settlers from the Yitzhar settlement also burned dozens of dunams of agricultural land along the bypass road in the village of Madama, south of Nablus.
- Erecting tents in the lands of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus, to the east, including in areas classified as ‘B’, and raised racist banners belonging to the ‘Price Tag gangs’. One of them read in Arabic, ‘No future in Palestine’"
Jordan Valley:
- Establishing a settlement outpost, erecting mobile homes, and fencing off agricultural land in the Muntar area near the Kardala village in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Forcing shepherds to leave their lands in Khirbet Samra in the northern Jordan Valley. Thifting sheep belonging to Ibrahim Atallah Ka abneh in the Arab al-Malihat community.
- Establishing a new settlement outpost in the area, the fifth of its kind, along al-Mu arrajat Road. They brought water tanks and an electric generator and began fencing off the site in preparation for turning it into a settlement. The new outpost indicates a settlement plan that aims to control an important corridor separating Jericho from the central West Bank, and restrict the movement of citizens between the north and south of the West Bank.

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