An entire Bedouin community fled their village north of Jericho on Thursday night, succumbing to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers from surrounding illegal outposts, Peace Now reports.
Hundreds of Mu’arjat residents are now looking for a home elsewhere, the settlement watchdog says.
In recent months, settlers from nearby outposts routinely harassed Mu’arjat residents, blocking grazing, issuing threats, attacking people and stealing livestock, according to Peace Now.
“In recent weeks, harassment intensified, with settlers walking between homes, threatening residents and demanding that they leave,” Peace Now says.
On Wednesday, settlers established a new outpost several feet outside the community school. The family living nearby was forced to flee, and their property was looted, according to the watchdog.
“Israeli security forces ignored repeated calls from residents to remove the invading settlers. Soldiers and Border Police officers were even documented sitting with them in the new outpost adjacent to the community,” Peace Now says.
On Thursday night, dozens of settlers again entered the village, in what was the final blow, leading the entire community to flee.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this