An Over View
Since the beginning of 2023, the northern and central Palestinian Jordan Valley has witnessed a dangerous escalation in Israeli settler attacks. This escalation is part of a systematic political framework aimed at seizing land and displacing the Palestinian population, particularly vulnerable Bedouin and rural communities. This escalation coincided with the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, providing additional cover for waves of displacement and violations in the West Bank.
The Multiplicity of Violations and Attacks
The frequency of settler attacks has increased in recent years, particularly since they have become more blatantly sponsored by the government than ever before. It is worth noting that the attacks have diversified during this period and have increased as part of an organized policy targeting the Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley, by oppressing residents and pushing them to leave in favor of settlement expansion. These attacks took the following forms:
- Settlement Expansion
At least 59 new settlement outposts have been established since the beginning of 2023, most of them “herding outposts,” effective tools for imposing new facts on the ground. This number represents an unprecedented leap compared to the historical annual rate of outpost establishment, which was less than seven outposts per year between 1996 and 2022.
- Daily Physical Assaults and Harassment
As part of a series of hundreds of attacks, Israeli settlers raided Bedouin communities across the West Bank, killing and/or stealing sheep, stealing metal barracks, and preventing citizens from traveling to other whereabouts. Several local authorities documented cases of livestock being killed and stolen, as well as the expulsion of shepherds from pastures and preventing them from entering them. More than 30 cases of forced displacement of families from the northern Jordan Valley were documented in just one year, while 29 Bedouin communities in the West Bank have suffered the same fate since October 2023. It is worth noting that settler attacks totaled 2,400 recorded cases in 2024, while 1,250 cases were recorded during the first half of 2025.
- Systematic Attacks on Livelihoods
The agricultural and pastoral sector witnessed unprecedented attacks by the Israeli settlers after October 7, including the destruction of crops, the uprooting of trees, and the prevention of access to land. While these attacks are considered a direct target of food security, they are also a key tool for achieving the broader goal of evacuating the Jordan Valley of its indigenous inhabitants for the benefit of settlement expansion.
Operated Mechanisms and Systems of the Israeli Civil Administration to Carry out the Displacement Policy
The Israeli Civil Administration has adopted new laws that allow it to execute demolition orders immediately without prior notice, effectively implementing them in various areas of the Jordan Valley. Furthermore, Israel’s continued classification of land as “military training zones,” “nature reserves,” or “state land” violates the rights of landowners, particularly since the primary purpose of these classifications is to prevent Palestinians from using these lands, which comprise over 90% of the area of the Palestinian Jordan Valley. Furthermore, the Israeli Civil Administration’s systematic and near-total refusal of Palestinian requests for building permits in Area C, classified under the Oslo Accords and under full Israeli military rule, renders most buildings vulnerable to demolition on the grounds of lack of permits.
Targeting through Psychological and Social Impact
The escalating Israeli settler attacks in the Jordan Valley and forced displacement have had profound psychological and social effects on the Palestinian population. These include heightened feelings of fear and anxiety, particularly among women and children, as a result of repeated raids and violent attacks, particularly at night, on homes and sources of livelihood. This reality has led to the disintegration of the social fabric within Bedouin communities, a marked decline in access to education and basic health services, and restrictions on the movement of residents, denying them safe travel between their areas. The targeting of livestock and agricultural activities, the primary source of livelihood for many families, has also contributed to rising rates of poverty and food insecurity, deepening economic and social vulnerability and making communities more vulnerable to forced displacement and uprooting.
The reality of the occupation and its impact on the Palestinian presence
The reality on the ground in the Jordan Valley and Area C reflects a systematic pattern of Israeli policies aimed at undermining the Palestinian presence through a series of repressive measures that constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), which stipulates the protection of civilians under occupation and prohibits forced displacement and the demolition of property. Over the past decade, approximately 7,000 Palestinian homes and structures have been demolished in Area C, including approximately 2,026 in the Jordan Valley alone, 676 of which were built with the funding of foreign governments and international Donor organizations. This is a blatant violation of Article (53) of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the destruction of private property by an occupying power.
Israeli displacement policies are manifested in multiple forms of systematic deprivation of Palestinians’ basic rights guaranteed by international law, most notably the rights to housing, water, education, health, freedom of movement, and work. Regarding the right to water, the occupation authorities are deliberately destroying rainwater collection wells, drying up springs, and diverting them to settlements. Regarding education, the occupation authorities prohibit the establishment of schools within Bedouin communities, depriving thousands of children of their right to education. There is only one school (Khan al-Ahmar School) serving several communities up to the ninth grade, under difficult and dangerous conditions due to the prohibition on using the main road, preventing them from continuing their school and university education.
Regarding health services, residents live in a state of near-absence of medical care, with only one clinic lacking basic equipment and medicines. This is in complete disregard of the right to health enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Furthermore, residents suffer from systematic policies aimed at depriving them of their livelihoods by preventing them from grazing their lands and classifying these areas as “state land” or military training zones, a direct violation of Article (39) of the Geneva Convention, which guarantees the livelihood of protected persons.
The suffering of Bedouin communities is intensified by their deprivation of essential transportation routes. The occupation authorities refuse to pave roads or allow the use of main roads, forcing residents, including children and the sick, to take difficult routes to reach their daily needs. This is a clear violation of Article (33) of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective punishment and inhumane treatment. Overall, these policies reflect a strategic approach to imposing an expansionist settlement reality in the Jordan Valley and Area C, by emptying the land of its indigenous inhabitants and depriving them of basic rights and the minimum necessities and of life. This is in flagrant defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions regarding the illegality of settlements and the protection of the population under occupation.
Recommendations and Conclusion
In light of the ongoing escalation of settler attacks in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, accompanied by forced displacement and systematic repression of Bedouin communities, it is imperative to formulate comprehensive strategic recommendations at the national and international levels. On the Palestinian level, it is necessary to activate the official institutional presence in the region by empowering local authorities and village councils to play an active role in providing basic services and documenting violations in a systematic and organized manner. It is also important to launch effective media and documentation campaigns that highlight the escalating violations and highlight the suffering of the population to the world. On the international level, relevant parties are recommended to call for the dispatch of fact-finding missions to the Jordan Valley to monitor and document violations and to exert political and legal pressure on Israel to halt demolitions, displacement, and settlement expansion, as these constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law. Efforts should also be made to include settler crimes within the framework of war crimes before international courts, in addition to directing support towards development projects that strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian population in the Jordan Valley and provide them with the means to survive and withstand policies of uprooting.
Settler attacks in the Palestinian Jordan Valley and the forced displacement of Bedouin communities represent a complex crime of a colonial nature, aimed at emptying the land of its indigenous population and creating a demographic reality that serves the creeping annexation project.
Israeli policies to promote settlement expansion and impose new facts on the ground, including the displacement of indigenous populations, the expansion of settlements, and the consolidation of Israeli control over the West Bank, constitute a blatant challenge to international law and UN resolutions. Therefore, confronting these policies requires comprehensive national and international action, based on strengthening the resilience of the population, documenting crimes, and activating the tools of international law.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
