Last families flee Ras Ein al-Auja following repeated settler harassment, Bedouin rights group says

The three last remaining families from the Bedouin community of Ras Ein al-Auja, north of Nablus in the northern West Bank, dismantled their homes and left the encampment this morning due to repeated settler harassment, Bedouin rights group al-Bidar says.

The livestock-based community was originally home to some 120 families who had lived there for decades, according to activists. Families began fleeing en masse this month after settlers in December established a new outpost less than 500 meters (547 yards), or within grazing distance, from the Bedouin community, according to left-wing Israeli group B’Tselem.

Israeli and Palestinian activists have recorded regular instances of settlers assaulting shepherds and activists, vandalizing property and bringing their own livestock to graze in Ras Ein al-Auja and other Bedouin shepherding communities across the West Bank.

In footage from today published by al-Bidar, a settler can be seen pushing an older female Israeli activist to the ground, apparently unprovoked, in the Bedouin community of Shakara, south of Nablus.

#شاهد| مستوطن يهاجم متضامنة بعنف خلال اقتحام تجمع شكارة شرق بلدة دوما جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/PZihVjkUIa

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) January 31, 2026

Yesterday, a father and son from an outpost in the Jordan Valley accosted a Bedouin shepherd as he took his livestock to graze in an open area near the encampment of Farsiyya, according to Jordan Valley Activists, an Israeli group that accompanies Bedouin shepherds in the area.

Footage shared with The Times of Israel shows that the older settler was armed and wearing an IDF uniform.

A spokesperson for the group says the settlers assaulted two activists who were recording the incident and also snatched the activists’ phones, at least one of which was later found in the field.

The spokesperson shares photos of one of the activists with bruises on his back and face after the settlers allegedly kicked him, broke his finger and cocked a gun at him. The activist was taken to a hospital, the spokesperson says, adding that police later arrived on the scene.

It was unclear if the police arrested anyone. Police and the IDF do not immediately respond to requests for comment.