Al-Quds – Saba:
Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank Roland Friedrich warned of the alarming deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Khirbet Umm al-Khair and Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in occupied Palestine, in light of escalating settler attacks, intensified demolition orders, and measures that threaten the imminent forced displacement of hundreds of Palestinian Bedouin families.
The official Palestinian News Agency quoted Friedrich as saying that for several years, Palestine refugees in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, located in the hills south of Hebron and adjacent to the Karmiel settlement, have faced harassment and violence by settlers, in addition to home demolitions and administrative measures, all of which undermine the lives of this Bedouin community, which UNRWA provides services to.
He added that tensions have escalated in recent days after armed settlers entered the community day and night, vandalized property, and attempted to expand the fence. The settlement is located within the lands of Umm al-Khair.
He continued: "This comes at a time when Palestinian communities in Firing Zone 918, adjacent to Masafer Yatta, face the threat of displacement, affecting 200 families, comprising approximately 1,200 people, including 500 children. Under international law, these settlements are illegal.
Remote Bedouin and herding communities, such as Umm al-Khair and all Masafer Yatta communities, face imminent forcible displacement. This reflects a broader trend in the occupied West Bank: land seizures in Area C, escalating settler violence, and growing impunity, creating coercive conditions that raise concerns about forced population transfer.
Frederick emphasized that Israel, as the "occupying power," bears a responsibility to protect these Palestinian communities from settler violence and to hold perpetrators accountable.
Under international law, the demolition of private property must be halted, the escalation of forced displacement must be halted, and the right of Bedouin and pastoral communities, who have lived on these lands for generations, to live in dignity and security must be guaranteed.
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