Settlers’ Settler violence and terror dominate the landscape of depriving Palestinians of water resources.

By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that Ein Samia area, also known as the ‘Ain Samia Spring’, located on the eastern plains of the Kafr Malik village, is exposed to continued attacks on its people and water sources, where scores of Bedouin families from the Ka abneh Tribe were forced to evacuate thecommunity that was built 40 years ago on private property belonging to the people of the village, and registered in the Land Registry, under arrangements and agreements with the landowners.
The community was subjected to attacks by settlers, who initially established 4 pastoral outposts on the hills surrounding the community, and organized concentrated campaigns of persecution, threats, and reduction of grazing areas, which forced them to dismantle their facilities and leave after the area became home to dozens of pastoral outposts spread over scattered areas, besieging shepherds and Bedouins and harassing even passers-by who use the winding roads in the area. While many of the outposts were established illegally, even under the occupation’s regulations, none of them were demolished, but rather were legitimized through the collusion and partnership between the occupation army, police and the terrorist gangs that create a coercive environment that threatens the Palestinian presence in there.
After the displacement, came the turn of its water resources. The Jerusalem Water Authority announced last week that pumping had completely stopped from water wells and stations in the Ein Samia spring, due to escalating settler attacks on vital facilities and installations in the area. Its crews also lost technical and administrative control over the entire water system, following a series of attacks that -dir-ectly targeted electricity networks, pumping equipment, communications systems, and monitoring cameras.
This led to a complete halt in operations and the disruption of pumping to dozens of Palestinian villages and towns in the north and east of the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate. The Water Authority appealed to official and human rights bodies, both local and international, for immediate and urgent intervention to halt these dangerous attacks, warning that the continuation of the current situation will cause a catastrophe that threatens more than 110,000 citizens by depriving them of their basic right to water. The Water Authority called for international protection for Palestinian water resources and for real pressure to be imposed to halt the systematic sabotage of its facilities and main water sources.
Hundreds of Jerusalem Authority employees protested in July of last year in front of its headquarters in Ramallah against the Israeli occupation s policies of water shortages. Israel controls water resources, and water is distributed to Palestinians through the Israeli company Mekorot, which has gradually reduced the amount of water allocated to them over the years. This exacerbates the water crisis during the summer, especially since the occupation controls additional distribution points in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate.
Settlers have also attacked the Utility s water source in the Ein Samia area, vandalizing property and assaulting its crews. This followed an attack by settlers on a sub-water station in the eastern plains of Kafr Malik village, which destroyed the network of wells, pumps, and pipes that draw water from the spring. This attack was just one of several carried out by settlers who target Palestinian springs and water stations by sabotaging, diverting,´-or-seizing control of them.
Noting here that the residents of the aforementioned area have been for years target of terror by the occupation army and settler gangs. A few years ago, this terror succeeded in displacing the remaining residents of the Ein Samia community, numbering about 200 Palestinians. They were forced to leave their lands after the settlers, along with the occupation army, made their lives hell. They suffered from years of violence by the occupation forces, and from strict restrictions on housing construction and infrastructure, including demolition.
They also suffered from settler violence, which was fully supported by the occupation army and even by the judiciary, which authorized the demolition of a school in the area. This occupation policy paved the way for what we have reached: attacks by Jewish terrorist organizations on water sources and the seizure of more and more Palestinian land, placing it at the disposal of the settlers and at their service.
The settler attacks on the Ein Samia Water Authority have exacerbated the crisis facing Palestinian citizens in obtaining their water rights, which are being seized by the occupation authorities. With every summer, the water crisis erupts in many governorates in the West Bank. However, the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, which is considered the temporary administrative and economic center of the Palestinian National Authority and attracts a large number of internal migration for both labor and investment purposes, remains under great pressure to meet increasing needs in light of the intransigence of Israeli authorities to increase the quantities required for Palestinian citizens, despite the steady growth in the population. The Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of years ago is not the same as it is today, yet the quantities of water allocated to it have remained constant over the years.
Settler attacks on the Ein Samia water network bring to mind the occupation s policy of seizing Palestinian water resources and the discrimination it practices in accessing water between Palestinian citizens and illegal settlers. Following Israel s occupation of the West Bank, the Israeli military authorities extended their authority over all water resources and water infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In Nov. 1967, the Israeli authorities issued Military Order no. 158, prohibiting Palestinians from constructing any new water lines without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli military, a nearly impossible task. Palestinians in the West Bank continue to suffer the devastating consequences of this military order. They are unable to dig new water wells, install water pumps,´-or-deepen existing wells, and are denied access to the Jordan River and freshwater springs.
According to estimates, the Israeli occupation controls more than 84% of Palestinian water in the West Bank. In addition, the occupation authorities have demolished at least 500 water collection wells and seized more than 52% of Palestinian water in the West Bank for the benefit of its residents inside the 1948 territories, and they seize 32% for the benefit of the settlements, leaving only 16% of the water available to the land and water owners.
within the context, settler violence and terrorism have begun to spark debate within the Israeli government, between the political and military security echelons, after the number of violent attacks and hate crimes perpetrated by settlers against Palestinians jumped in the first half of this year, reaching its highest level since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, according to data recently released by the occupation army.
Data collected by the Israeli security apparatus shows that 404 such cases were documented in the West Bank during Jan-June of this year, a sharp but steady increase: in the first half of 2024, this number reached 286 cases, and in the second half of last year, it reached 332 cases. This data reveals a broader picture, including settler violence against Israeli security forces themselves. InJan-June of this year, there were 33 such cases, and in total, the number has reached 100 since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip. This is a worrying phenomenon, according to senior army and security officials, who decided to present this data to the political echelon.
Quite a few attacks have made media headlines recently, including violent demonstrations in front of IDF bases, the burning of a sensitive security facility in the West Bank, and a violent attack by settlers against reserve soldiers and a battalion commander near Kafr Malik. Recently, Eyal Zamir held several security meetings on the matter. The army and Shin Bet are noticing a growing motivation among settlers living in illegal outposts in the West Bank, including farms, to expand confrontations with the army, Shin Bet, and police. The number of terrorist outposts and farms has increased by about 100 new farms since Oct 7.
The ‘OCHA’ also documented in its latest report that at least 2,895 Palestinians from 69 communities across the West Bank have been displaced since the beginning of 2023 due to the coercive environment resulting from escalating settler violence. 45% percent of the displaced families were from the Ramallah Governorate (1,309 out of 2,895 families), followed by the Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Tubas, Salfeet, Jerusalem, and Jericho governorates - areas where Israeli settlers, believed to be from nearby outposts, have launched attacks on nearby Palestinian communities of the 636 people displaced in this context so far in 2025, a third were in the Jordan Valley - 215 out of 636 displaced.
On another front, Judaization and settlement projects continue in various forms in occupied Jerusalem. The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee is discussing the possibility of approving the so-called ‘Brown Line’ light rail plan for occupied Jerusalem. This dangerous settlement plan is a -dir-ect extension of the Judaization policies and the imposition of complete Israeli control over the occupied city. This plan doesn’t fall within the framework of improving infrastructure´-or-providing civil services, but rather is an attempt to impose unilateral facts on the ground by force to consolidate the map of Israeli colonial interests in Jerusalem.
The plan aims to connect the ‘industrial zone’ in the settlement of ‘Atarot’ to the village of Sur Baher, passing through a number of Palestinian neighborhoods and areas in East Jerusalem, including Ras al-Amud, Jabal Mukaber, Bab al-Amud, Beit Hanina, and the Old City, to connect the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem from north to south, via two main sections,‘The northern section starts from ‘Atarot’ in the north, to Bab al-Amud, and relies partially on the path of the ‘Red Line’, especially between the ‘Shiftei Yisrael’ station and Beit Hanina, and then north along the Ramallah Road – ‘old Route 60’ to the industrial zone in Atarot.
This section includes nine new stations, in addition to stops at seven existing stations currently used only by the ‘Red Line’, where the Israeli government plans to establish a new settlement for the Haredi movement, comprising about 9,000 housing units.
In this regard, Bimkom - Planning and Human Rights, an organization that opposes the plan, says that the discussion is focused only on the northern section of the line s route, which is the part required to implement the aforementioned settlement project, adding,‘Although the Brown Line is presented as a modern transportation project serving Palestinians and Israelis in the city, the reality is that it is being promoted primarily to serve the settlers, with almost complete disregard for the needs of the Palestinian population, who suffer from overcrowding and a lack of infrastructure and basic services.’
In Jerusalem, the so-called Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Meir Porush, from the far-right religious Agudat Yisrael party, decided to confiscate properties in Bab al-Silsila in the Old City of Jerusalem just hours before resigning from his post. He claimed that he based his decision on a decision originally issued after the occupation of the city in 1967, which stipulated the confiscation of all properties in the Bab al-Silsila and Harat al-Sharaf areas, which were subsequently transferred to the management of the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company.
Under the title ‘Expropriation of Properties on Silsila Street’, Porush addressed a letter to the -dir-ector of the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company, stating: “In accordance with the decision made by the Israel Land Authority following the return of the Old City of Jerusalem to the people of Israel in 1967, he claims, all properties in the Jewish Quarter were expropriated and transferred to the management of the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company.”
He added, ‘since then and over the years, the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company has managed the assets in accordance with its commitment to the restoration of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem and its development as a historical and Jewish site.’ He concluded his letter by saying, “In light of the above, and in accordance with Decision No. 60 of the 37th Government, which stipulates that the Minister of Jerusalem and Israeli Tradition will be the minister responsible for the affairs of the Jewish Quarter Rehabilitation and Development Company in the Old City of Jerusalem Ltd. and since this is a clear matter of policy, I ask you to act accordingly and implement the expropriation decision on Silsila Street, in accordance with the expropriation map and all laws.’ The letter concerns buildings extending from the Silsila Gate, in the Western Wall. To Al-Aqsa Mosque, and up to the middle of Bab Al-Silsila, which are properties that reach the Buraq Wall.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Forcing Subhiya Shakirat to demolish her home in the Jabal al-Mukaber town under the pretext of building without a permit.
- Issuing a final demolition order for a residential building inhabited by 17 Jerusalemite families in the al-Sawana neighborhood and gave the families only 3 days to evacuate. This will lead to the displacement of 17 families living in the building, consisting of about 100 Jerusalemites, under the pretext of lacking a permit. Its residents have paid heavy fines over the past years to the occupation municipality. Among the families living in the building is the family of the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri.
- Jerusalemites from the Halawani family began emptying a residential building containing six apartments of their property in the Beit Hanina town in preparation for its self-demolition by a decision from the occupation municipality in Jerusalem.
- Attacking an agricultural facility in the Sawahra town, belonging to the Salama Shakirat family, where they attacked the sheep, leading to their displacement, and destroyed an agricultural tractor. They broke windows, destroyed the contents of rooms, and destroyed solar panels, surveillance cameras, a fence surrounding the facility, and quantities of fodder.
Jerusalem:
- Storming Khirbet al-Fakhit in Masafer Yatta and carried out provocative tours, coinciding with the presence of the occupation army, which arrested a foreign ‘peace activist’, who was documenting violations. Meanwhile, a settler with his sheep stormed the "Shaab al-Batm" area in the same place.
- Expelling a number of citizens from their lands in the al-Hamra area near the village of al-Tuwana, and provided protection for a number of settlers who stormed the area and brought their livestock onto lands planted with fruit trees, which led to the destruction of part of the agricultural crops.
- Bulldozing citizens lands at the main entrance to the Idhna town, belonging to the citizen Jihad Tamizi, and broke grape and lemon trees and destroyed the barbed wire. They also bulldozed other areas of land in the same area, under the pretext of searching for water lines belonging to the Israeli ‘Mekorot’ company.
- Attacking residents and their property, threatening to displace them from their lands in Wadi al-Simsam, south of Adh Dhahiriya, emptied drinking water tanks and livestock tanks. Citizen Muhammad al-Amur sustained injuries and bruises in an attack by settlers from the ‘Avi Gal’ settlement, built on residents lands and property in the village of al-Rakeez in al-Masafir. Others released hundreds of heads of livestock onto lands planted with fruit trees in Khirbet Aqwawis, causing damage to crops and posing a -dir-ect threat to the lives of residents and their agricultural environment.
Bethlehem:
- Handing over demolition notices to 7 houses in the Al-Khader town in the Um Rukba area, belonging to citizens Samih Salah, Saed Salah, Samir Salah, Mahmoud Salah, Adam Salah, Moh’d Musa, and Yousef Musa.
- Assaulting residents and committed ‘acts of looting, vandalism, and violence’, and prevented farmers and shepherds from accessing their lands in the village of Kisan.
- Setting up a number of ‘caravans’ in the Al-Makhrour area in the city of Beit Jala, and Al-Khamar, affiliated with the town of Battir, west of Bethlehem Governorate, in a move aimed at expanding existing settlement outposts and strengthening settlement in the area.
- Demolishing a car wash and a vehicle repair garage belonging to the head of the Al-Jab a village council, Diab Masha leh in the village of Al-Jab a, on the pretext of lacking a permit.
Ramallah:
- Building a new settlement road on lands in the Mikhmas town, a move aimed at facilitating settlement expansion and linking random outposts to the larger settlements in the area. This will lead to the confiscation of hundreds of dunams of citizens land, paving the way for transforming them into closed military zones´-or-‘nature reserves’ as a pretext for actual annexation.
- Attacking the outskirts of the Ni lin town, raided a house under construction in the area owned by Ibrahim Al-Khawaja, and severely beat its owner, causing him head injuries. They then set the house on fire.
- Attacking the village of Beitin, burning 2 vehicles and writing racist slogans on the outer wall of a house. They also launched a drone into the sky of the village.
- Steeling agricultural equipment, while others moved mobile homes to the vicinity of a settlement outpost built on the lands of the town of Sinjil. A third group attempted to attack homes on the outskirts of the town of Jaljalia.
Nablus:
- Bulldozing in the settlement outpost established south of the Aqraba town, targeting the historical archaeological site located on top of Mount Qarqafah.
- Injuring a 19-year-old young man in the town of Beita, south of Nablus after settlers attacked him in the town.
Salfeet:
- Beating citizen Ayser Shamlawi from the Haris town while he was picking cactus fruits in the Wadi Qana area. They stole his agricultural tools and a quantity of cactus fruits.
Jenin:
- Cutting down scores of olive trees in the village of Jalboun, in the southeastern part of the village. The targeted area is located near the racist separation and expansion wall and covers an area of 130 dunams, prevented residents from accessing the targeted area.
Qalqilia:
- Notifying the seizure of 7 dunams in the village of Jinsafut, east of Qalqilya. This decision is intended to expand and pave a new military road for the settlements of Neve Menachem and Ramat Gilad.
Jordan Valley:
- Issuing an order to drill a groundwater well in the northern Jordan Valley for the Israeli company Mekorot. The planned well, 600 meters deep, is located on private land in Khirbet al-Hadidiya. These measures threaten a plot of land of about 1.5 dunams belonging to citizens from Tubas. Seven families were also notified to stop work on residential and agricultural facilities in the al-Farisiya community in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Demolishing residential and livestock facilities in the Ein al-Hilweh and Ein al-Bayda areas in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Storming the al-Maleh Bedouin community in the northern Jordan Valley and stole about 200 sheep.

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