Israelis mark Passover with controversy over ancestral homeland claims

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Jordan Valley, Occupied West Bank - A video circulating on settler chat groups shows children wading and splashing in natural pools near Shallal al-Auja spring, which was once a popular spot for locals. The footage, taken during the Jewish festival of Passover, appears to show settlers celebrating their forced displacement of Palestinians from the area.

Haitham al-Zayed, who was displaced along with his family three months ago, described the scene as “very hard to see” but unsurprising. He recalled spending his childhood swimming in the same pools and said that thousands of settlers converged on the spring during Passover.

According to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1,727 Palestinians from 36 communities in the West Bank were displaced in the first three months of 2026 due to settler violence and access restrictions. The West Bank Protection Consortium reported that the video was evidence of the intentional use of violence by Israeli settlers to forcibly displace Palestinians.

Settlers had conducted “provocative tours” around Haitham’s community for years, which led to the cutting off of access to al-Auja spring and its canals in October 2023. The loss of their main water source and summer gathering spots forced the Palestinian community to flee. Israeli soldiers and settlers on all-terrain vehicles also raided homes and interrogated residents.

The video shows settler children playing in the same pools where Haitham once swam, while their parents barbecue nearby. One man is heard saying that “thanks to a few youth - 16 years old! That are going around this area with their flocks” made it possible for settlers to return to their land.

The West Bank Protection Consortium stated that the celebration of ethnic cleansing carried out by these settler youth is evidence of impunity and lack of accountability. The displacement of Palestinians from Area C has already exceeded the highest annual figure recorded in any of the previous three years.

Source: Al Jazeera