Israeli settlers are driving Palestinian shepherds from their grazing lands

Mukhlis Masa’id of Khirbet Yarza successful the occupied West Bank has lived successful a authorities of sorrow since settlers intensified their attacks connected his Jordan Valley assemblage 3 years ago.

He and different section Palestinians person seen settlers destruct their crops, onslaught their homes, and battle shepherds and farmers moving the grazing lands astir the village, with increasing ferocity and incidence.

Fourteen families, astir 100 Palestinians successful total, called this portion location until expanding convulsive settler enactment forced them to see their aboriginal here. Early this year, locals decided they had had capable with the near-daily settler attacks, truthful they gathered their surviving livestock and near the village.

This sustained targeting of agriculture successful the country – connected which astir the full assemblage relies – appears to beryllium portion of an organised and systematic run of intimidation by settlers, intended to thrust full Palestinian farming communities from their land.

“The settlers person galore means of connection among themselves. When they onslaught the shepherds, dozens of them stitchery to intimidate them. Meanwhile, we person nary means of proscription to scope the shepherds and effort to support them. Our roads are besides unsmooth and unpaved, dissimilar the roads utilized by the settlers,” Masa’id told Al Jazeera.

The settlers didn’t halt there; they stole hundreds of sheep and cattle, the lifeblood of this bluish West Bank community.

“We consciousness similar we’ve mislaid a son. What happened to america is the worst happening that could ever hap – to permission the homes we’ve lived successful each our lives, homes we hoped our children and grandchildren would unrecorded successful too,” helium told us.

The settler attacks intensified from October 2023, months aft a caller Israeli authorities came to powerfulness with far-right ministers – who led oregon are portion of settler movements – appointed to cardinal posts. The run continued until the assemblage had fled their homes successful March 2026, but adjacent then, their troubles did not end.

“Dozens of sheep died from diseases aft we moved. When we left, we had to permission the fodder successful the rainfall due to the fact that determination was obscurity other to store it, and it spoiled,” Masa’id said.

“Now, we graze the remaining livestock successful cramped, overcrowded areas similar the countryside astir Tubas. Nothing we’re surviving present resembles our beingness successful Yirza.”

Bedouin radical who were forced to permission their lands nether the settlers’ attacks [Courtesy of Mohamad Ateeq]

The signifier of repeated attacks by settlers doesn’t lone people Area C, the portion of the occupied West Bank afloat nether Israeli power and which makes up much than 60 percent of the West Bank.

There look to beryllium broader objectives related to the full Palestinian territory, which has been nether Israeli concern since 1967. This includes Area A, a portion technically nether afloat Palestinian Authority power but witnessing expanding settler activity.

Zuhair Abu Shaar, from Jifna, northbound of Ramallah, was shocked to spot a radical of Israeli settlers unexpectedly tempest his livestock pen, successful the bosom of the village, connected April 15.

The villagers confronted the band, who concisely near the area, but they returned fractional an hr aboriginal with 12 Israeli subject vehicles successful support.

“The soldiers got retired of the vehicles connected ft and came to america with the settlers. They stole 180 caput of cattle, took them away, assaulted us, and changeable 1 of my neighbours successful the leg,” Abu Shaar told Al Jazeera.

“They besides struck my nephew hard successful the side, successful the country of a country helium had months ago, causing him to autumn to the ground. When I tried to support him, they bushed me, handcuffed me, threw maine to the ground, and pointed a weapon astatine my head.”

The service emptied the full pen but for 1 sick sheep that couldn’t locomotion and withdrew down a unreality of teardrop gas, with a donkey and a car they recovered successful the colony successful tow.

Zuhair estimates his losses astatine nary little than 450,000 shekels ($150,000) and has nary accusation connected the livestock, his sole root of income, that were stolen by the settler party.

“I’m similar idiosyncratic whose location is demolished and is rebuilding it ceramic by brick. I’m trying to commencement from scratch. This is an occupation, and we expect thing from them arsenic they effort to unit america retired of our land,” helium added.

Zuhair Abu Sha’ar has seen his livestock stolen by Israeli settlers [Courtesy of Mohamad Turkman]

Nidal Younis, caput of the Masafer Yatta colony council, southbound of Hebron, told Al Jazeera that implicit the past 3 years, astir each the grazing lands successful the country person been seized by settlers.

Settler groups person established 12 caller outposts astir Masafer Yatta, successful summation to appropriating much than 90 percent of onshore cultivated with wintertime crops, specified arsenic wheat and barley, according to officials successful the area.

“Last year, settlers prevented radical from harvesting their crops portion simultaneously bringing their sheep to graze connected them,” said Younis. “They besides prevented farmers from ploughing their onshore by attacking tractors and assaulting the farmers.”

On January 27, settlers attacked a colony successful the Masafer Yatta country and stole 300 caput of livestock. Even those grazing sheep connected onshore extracurricular the country were attacked, had their livestock stolen, oregon were beaten.

“The outgo of livestock has go precise precocious for people, and galore families person sold portion of their herds to beryllium capable to provender the rest,” helium said.

“There is simply a crisp yearly diminution successful livestock successful Masafer Yatta, and what remains is little than 25 percent of what it was respective years ago.”

According to a study issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) successful mid-May 2026, the Jordan Valley has seen the fig of monthly incidents resulting successful injuries oregon spot harm emergence from 2 per period successful 2020 to 27 successful the archetypal 4 months of 2026.

These cases are nary longer constricted to idiosyncratic attacks connected Palestinians, but person targeted the full mode of beingness for these cultivation communities aft sustained attacks connected pastures, h2o sources and reservoirs. Agricultural instrumentality and facilities, specified arsenic carnal pens, person besides been destroyed.

The OCHA warned that the repeated targeting of Palestinian agriculture threatens to undermine families’ quality to support their livelihoods, owed to galore residents depending connected herding arsenic their superior root of income. A 2025 study published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) showed that astir two-thirds of the 72,000 farming and herding families successful the occupied West Bank required exigency assistance.

Abbas Melhem, caput of the Union of Palestinian Agricultural Associations, told america that 87 percent of the livestock assemblage is concentrated successful an country stretching from Masafer Yatta to the Jordan Valley successful the east, astir of which is successful Area C.

More than 90 percent of the country betwixt Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley successful the eastbound is off-limits to Palestinian farmers and shepherds. Israeli settlers’ flocks, meanwhile, person unrestricted entree to the grazing lands, helium said.

This run of settler unit and Israeli restrictions connected Palestinian farmers has led to a diminution successful the fig of livestock successful the West Bank and Gaza, 1.75 cardinal caput 4 years agone to lone 480,000 today, Melhem said.

Combined with settlers’ targeting of olive groves during harvest season, the main West Bank crop, it volition beryllium the implicit demolition of a mode of beingness that has survived for centuries successful Palestine.

“I americium not exaggerating erstwhile I accidental that if the concern continues arsenic it is, without enactment for livestock breeders, past Palestinians volition beryllium forced to bargain sacrificial animals from settlers who are afloat protected by the Israeli army,” Melhem told Al Jazeera.

“We are connected the brink of illness successful nutrient information successful some the works and carnal sectors if determination is nary planetary involution to support [us].”