Ein al-Beida, a Palestinian village located 15 kilometers northeast of the Tubas Governorate in the northern Jordan Valley, stands as an evident representation of the systemic challenges and injustices faced by Palestinian communities under Israeli occupation. Home to approximately 3,000 residents, over 70% of whom are women and 25% children, the village is bordered by the Mahola settlement, which was established on its confiscated lands. Additionally, access to the village is constrained by the Tayasir checkpoint, a permanent military barrier that disrupts movement, trade, and access to essential services. This geographical and infrastructural confinement intensifies the village residents’ vulnerability, as they are subjects to frequent aggression and systematic violations, threatening their livelihoods, security, and overall wellbeing.
On October 2, 2024, a particularly devastating incident unfolded when Israeli settlers deliberately targeted a fruit and vegetable stall owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hassan Fuqaha, strategically located along bypass road 90 near the village entrance.
The Fuqaha family vegetable stall before Settler Vandalism
Under the cover of darkness, the settlers set the stall ablaze, obliterating the family’s primary source of income and causing financial losses estimated at 10,000 shekels. The attack was not limited to property damage; the settlers also fired shots to intimidate Mr. Fuqaha’s family and nearby villagers, preventing them from extinguishing the flames. They further issued threats, warning the family against rebuilding the stall, increasing their sense of helplessness and fear.
Settlers’ vandalism at point of sale: after vandalism
This assault exemplifies the aggressive tactics employed to disrupt Palestinian livelihoods and intimidate families into abandoning their land. This incident was not an isolated act of violence but part of a broader, escalating campaign. In the preceding months, settlers destroyed four additional roadside points of sale, two belonging to farmers from Ein al-Beida and two to farmers from the neighboring village of Bardala. These points of sale were crucial for the survival of local families who rely on selling their agricultural produce to sustain their households. The violence extended further when settlers targeted a 2 dunum plastic greenhouse that had provided an essential source of income for the Fuqaha family for over a decade. The greenhouse was torn apart, the cucumber crop was obliterated, and half of the surrounding trees were uprooted, resulting in an additional loss of 5,000 shekels.
This pattern of destruction has not spared other farmers in the community. More than 10 farmers suffered widespread damage to over 30 dunums of farmland, including destroyed crops, cut water pipelines, stolen pumps, and vandalized solar panels. The systematic targeting of agricultural infrastructure has devastated the economic stability of these families, who rely heavily on farming to survive. These repeated violations are designed to undermine the livelihoods of small Palestinian farmers, making their continued existence on the land increasingly unviable.
Other plastics houses destruction and other points of sale along bypass road 90
Mr. Hassan Fuqaha and his wife have expressed the profound impact of these attacks on his family and the broader community. He highlighted the futility of filing complaints, as these violations occur under the watchful eyes of the Israeli occupation Army, who remain passive and even in many cases complicit. This institutional indifference only encourages the settlers to commit further crimes, deepening the sense of frustration, helplessness, and injustice among Palestinian farmers. The lack of accountability and protection perpetuates a cycle of violence and fear, eroding the social and economic fabric of the village.
Israeli settlers terrorizing the farmers and residents
Since 2000, at least 10 families comprising over 60 individuals, 70% of whom are women have been forced to leave Ein al-Beida in search of security and economic stability. This forced migration highlights the broader, systematic effort carried out in a systematic fashion by Israel to depopulate Palestinian communities through relentless harassment and deprivation. Many young adults, facing bleak economic prospects and constant insecurity, are choosing not to remain in the village, accelerating the threat of depopulation.
The impact of these violations is particularly severe for women and children, who live in a perpetual state of fear, insecurity, and trauma. This ongoing campaign of forced displacement and destruction of livelihoods undermines the community’s resilience and threatens the long term viability of Ein al-Beida. Without meaningful intervention and accountability, these violations jeopardize not only the future of this village but also the broader prospects for peace, stability, and human rights in the region.
Ein al-Beida represents as a small scale version of the struggles faced by Palestinian communities across the Jordan Valley and the West Bank, where systemic aggression, land seizures, and displacement are part of everyday life. The state in which the village of Ein al-Beida sets in represents the urgent need for international attention and action to address these injustices, protect vulnerable communities, and uphold the principles of human rights and international law.
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Prepared as part of the project:
“Mapping and Diagnosing Palestinian Rural Women’s Livelihood and Economic Empowerment in Area “C”
Implemented by: The Applied research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ)
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
