Violent Israeli settlers attack Palestinian community in Jericho and expel all 15 families

A Palestinian community, which lives in the village of Deir al Dik al-Tahta in the Tel al Samrat area of Jericho, has been attacked by Israeli colonial settlers and expelled from their homes.

Israeli settlers attack another village near Jericho

The attack, which occurred on 11 February and lasted most of the daylight hours, involved around 30 masked settlers. They arrived in ATVs, cars, and tractors, and stole 120-150 sheep, a car and a tractor:

According to the community, although they called both the Palestinian and Israeli occupation police, no one came to their assistance. The settlers, who are all armed by the government, pointed guns at the heads of the Palestinians, even children, and told them to leave or they would all be killed. They threw stones and assaulted members of the community. 10 Palestinians were beaten and injured, including women and children, and one person needed stitches in his head.

The settlers bulldozed and destroyed 19 buildings, including 15 residential homes, and stole jewellery and money. All 15 families, including 15 children, have been evacuated to temporary accommodation. They are currently too afraid to return to what is left of their homes:

Just above the community is an illegal outpost and a military camp:

So for the past two years, as in the rest of Palestine, settlers and the Israeli occupation army have joined forces and terrorised the community. There is no accountability or justice for Palestinians, and the occupation can literally get away with murder. They aim to ethnically cleanse the occupied West Bank of Palestinians.

No justice

Tel al Samrat is in the Jordan Valley. This sparsely populated agricultural area of the West Bank is rich in resources, and the Israeli occupation has wanted to annex the region since 1967. In the past two years settlers violence has increased considerably. So have demolitions of residential and agricultural structures. Large areas are also being declared so called “state land” or “military firing zones”, to prevent Palestinians from accessing their land. An Israeli law is then implemented, confiscating land from Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation recently expanded its control over Palestinian lands, by changing rules to land registration in the occupied West Bank. The changes will mean, among other things, it will be easier for illegal settlers to buy Palestinian land.

Featured image and additional images via the Canary