Settlers break into homes in Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya overnight, forcing residents to flee

Israeli settlers were documented breaking into a home in the Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya, in the southern Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, overnight and ousting the family living there, reportedly amid efforts to establish a new outpost inside the village.

Photos from the scene show settlers relaxing and smoking outside the home after the family fled.

According to the left-wing activist group Looking the Occupation in the Eye, they also stole cash and an air conditioner unit from the home.

Elsewhere in the village, other settlers took over an uninhabited house and remained there throughout the night and into the morning.

An Israeli activist assisting residents of the village tells The Times of Israel that at the height of the incident, around 25 settlers were present at the scene. She says they threw stones at activists and villagers, and chased them with clubs. There were no injuries.

After the incident, it was discovered that about 60 sheep had been stolen from one of the residents, she says.

Mu'arajat, southern Jordan Valley.
At theses moments, settlers from nearby illegal outposts are invading the community's arre and are starting to build an outpost very close to the community's homes – as recently happened in Maghayer a-Dir, where the residents were forced to… pic.twitter.com/HYPZjwoMSy

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) July 2, 2025

The activist says that dozens of calls were made to the police overnight but no officers were dispatched to the scene. One of the villagers later filed a complaint.

Footage from the night shows IDF soldiers were present at the scene, but according to the activist, they did not intervene.

IDF soldiers sit with an Israeli settler who broke into the Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya, in the southern Jordan Valley, on July 3, 2025. (Looking the Occupation in the Eye)

A group of soldiers was later seen sitting with two of the settlers in what appeared to be a relaxed setting, with the soldiers drinking energy drinks and using their phones.

Mu’arajat is one of the few remaining Palestinian communities between Ramallah and Jericho. Most of the area’s roughly 1,000 residents have fled or were forcibly displaced by settler violence over the past two years.

The IDF and police have not yet issued a response.