Iran War Fails to Halt West Bank Expulsions as Palestinian Community Leaves After Settler Harassment
Friday, March 6, 2026 at 11:27PM A week ago, the village of Duma's electricity supply was cut off, and residents evacuated the women and children. On Friday, settlers arrived and harassed the remaining residents for hours until they, too, finally left. 'We are afraid to go near and see what is left,' said a resident
by Matan Golan 6 March 2025 Haaretz
A settler in the Palestinian community's land on Friday. Credit: Use according to clause 27A of the Copyright
After months of settler harassment despite an Israeli military order prohibiting Israelis from the area, a community of 11 Palestinian families left their homes in the northern West Bank on Thursday.
The community, made up of members of the Ka'abneh family, lived east of the village of Duma. Israeli settlers have only intensified their harassment against them in recent weeks, with most of the attackers coming from the nearby outpost of Giborei David, according to Palestinian testimonies and reports.
Soon after, police officers arrived and demanded that Israeli human rights activists in the area leave. Hours after their departure, one of the community's residential homes was vandalized, and early on Friday, settlers entered the community's area and for hours harassed the residents who remained there to guard the homes.
A week ago, the community's electricity supply was cut off after settlers reportedly damaged an electricity cable. Following the power outage, the community decided to evacuate the women and children in the community, and on Wednesday, the IDF issued an order prohibiting Israelis from entering the area for a month.
According to a resident, a police officer arrived at noon but did not remove the settlers, and army forces did not approach the area until the evening. After the incident, the remaining residents left the community.
"The situation is difficult. Very difficult. What kind of thing is it to flee your home in the middle of Ramadan?" a community resident told Haaretz. "We didn't even have time to dismantle the houses. Four or five days ago, after the electricity went out because of the settlers, I moved the children to the village of Duma, to a safe place."
"I brought them home for one night, and we felt the situation was unsafe, so I took them back," he added. "This morning, settlers came from the nearby outpost; one had a weapon. They caused a mess and destroyed property. We locked ourselves inside the house, and they knocked on the windows from outside," he recounted.
One of the community's houses vandalized by settlers earlier this week. Credit: Torat Tzedek
"The settlers remained in the houses we left; they stole equipment from the houses, electrical appliances, gas cylinders – we saw it," he recounted. "Now volunteers are forbidden to enter or approach; we are afraid to try to get close, to see what is left of the house. The settlers don't care about anything – women, small children, they will harm everyone."
"Now we are like refugees, three families in one room that we found in the village of Duma," he said. "How will I pay rent? I haven't worked for nine months, just guarding the house. Now the house is gone, the land is gone – and where will I go? I don't know."
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In recent weeks, violence against the community's residents has escalated, and settlers' use of pepper spray against them has also become frequent.
In one incident about two months ago, right-wing activist Roi Starr was documented attempting to break into a community structure, accompanied by other rioters. The far-right activists broke the entrance door, and a human rights activist who was there told Haaretz that Starr sprayed her with pepper spray.
Since October 7, many Palestinian communities have been forced to leave their homes due to settler harassment. In many cases, the expulsion of communities follows a similar pattern: an outpost is established near a herding community, harassment against the community intensifies – settlers expel residents from grazing lands and repeatedly invade the village – until the harassment becomes routine, and eventually, the community abandons its homes. The IDF and the police were aware of many cases of Palestinian expulsions but allowed them to continue.
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