Violation: Establishment of a new settlement outpost.
Location: Umm Al-Jamal community in the northern Jordan Valley.
Date of Violation: November 3, 2024.
Perpetrators: A group of settlers.
Affected Party: Residents of the northern Jordan Valley.

Description:

The northern Jordan Valley region in Tubas Governorate has witnessed new actions by settlers as part of a plan to Judaize the area and completely alter its landscape.

A group of settlers established a new settlement outpost on the lands of "Umm Al-Jamal," which serves as an extension to the Wadi Al-Maleh area. These lands are classified as waqf (endowment) properties under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate.

The settlers established the outpost after carrying out numerous assaults on the residents of Umm Al-Jamal community, including threats of murder and forced displacement. They also prevented them from grazing their livestock and moving freely, resulting in the complete displacement of 12 families who relocated to Bardala. For more details, refer to the report issued by the LRC in August 2024 (Click here). After the residents were displaced, the settlers proceeded to establish an outpost on their lands.

Field monitoring at the site of the violation revealed that the settlers placed three mobile housing units on two dunums of pastoral land, as a prelude to claiming the area. Additionally, they constructed a special cowshed.

Mr. Mahdi Zamel Daraghmeh, head of the Al-Maleh community, stated:

"There is a fierce campaign by the settlers to take over the entire Al-Maleh area. What has been done is essentially a prelude to displacing the entire population and imposing settler control over the entire region, extending across all of Al-Maleh."

He added:

"There has been an Israeli plan since the 1970s aimed at Judaizing the Al-Maleh area. The first step was the establishment of the Cobra military camp on Al-Maleh lands. Today, settlers are moving to complete this plan. The remaining communities here are now at risk of forced displacement due to daily assaults by settlers and the occupation army, including water tank confiscations, mass demolitions, and severe movement restrictions."

It is worth noting that the Arab Ka'abneh community in Khirbet Umm Al-Jamal originates from the Beersabi area. They were forcibly displaced from their homes during the Nakba of Palestine in 1948. Some moved to southern Hebron, while others relocated to the Jordan Valley.

In 2010, they were forcibly displaced again by the occupation from the Al-Auja area north of Jericho to Khirbet Al-Hadidiya, east of the Baqia Plain. In the same year, they were targeted once more by the occupation in a massive demolition campaign that forced them to move to Khirbet Umm Al-Jamal.

Despite the harsh conditions faced by the residents of the community, they have not been spared from the tyranny and aggression of the Israeli occupation. According to the field research team at the LRC, the most significant Israeli violations against the residents of Umm Al-Jamal community over the past ten years have been documented.

In early 2014 and October 2014, the community was targeted by occupation forces.

In early 2015, the community faced further targeting.

In 2017, a declaration was made to confiscate 582 dunums of land in the Ain Al-Hilweh and Umm Al-Jamal areas, threatening the displacement of 26 families.

In 2018, agricultural tents were confiscated in Khirbet Umm Al-Jamal.

In 2021, eviction notices were issued to the residents, with residential and agricultural tents confiscated in July and November.

In May 2023, the community was again threatened with demolition and removal.

By 2024, due to repeated settler assaults, the community was completely displaced once more. Today, the occupation has established a new settlement outpost on the evacuated lands.

مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC V - FCDO

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.

إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين

Images of the new settlement outpost established by settlers in Umm Al-Jamal - Al-Maleh - Tubas