After Decades of Resistance, a West Bank Village Faces Israeli Demolition Orders

"In the hills of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, a small Bedouin community in the village of Umm al-Khair has fought for decades to remain on their land, a rocky landscape dotted with olive trees, where they farm and raise livestock. As a community with a steadfast commitment to nonviolent struggle, they document and fight back against increasing settler violence and land annexation for the illegal Israeli settlement expansion that surrounds their homes."

"In an attack on Oct. 28, the community of 300 people was raided by the Israeli occupation forces and handed a series of final demolition orders for 11 residential homes, a community center, a playground and a greenhouse. Since 2007, Israeli settlers and the military have destroyed more than 100 structures in Umm al-Khair, according to a collective statement from the Umm al-Khair community."

""We are still here, this is my land, I prefer to die in this land," said Khalil Hathaleen, a member of the village council. Khalil's brother, Awdah Hathaleen, was a peace activist who was killed on July 28 by Yinon Levi, a formerly-sanctioned Israeli settler, who shot him in front of his family and neighbors while he was documenting the settler harassment and bulldozing of their olive trees."

Umm al-Khair is a small Bedouin community in Masafer Yatta that has struggled for decades to remain on ancestral land, farming and raising livestock amid rocky terrain and olive groves. The community practices documented nonviolent resistance while facing increasing settler violence and land annexation tied to nearby illegal Israeli settlement expansion. On Oct. 28, Israeli forces raided the village of about 300 people and issued final demolition orders for 11 homes, a community center, a playground and a greenhouse. Since 2007, more than 100 structures have been destroyed. Residents endure daily harassment, threats and steep livestock losses, and a local peace activist was killed while documenting settler aggression.

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