West Bank Experiences Third Year of Ongoing Conflict and Displacement

Palestinian Bedouin Community Faces Displacement and Violence

A Palestinian Bedouin community in Rammun, occupied West Bank, has experienced its seventh forced displacement since 1948. Abu Najjeh, the mukhtar (leader) of the former Ein Samiya community, was speaking from a recently erected tent before rushing to find his sons amid unfolding violence in Jiljilyya.

On Wednesday morning, dozens of Jewish settlers rampaged through Jiljilyya, Sinjil, and Abwein, shooting and killing 16-year-old Yousef Kaabneh. Yousef’s family had relocated to Jiljilyya hoping to be safe from settler attacks in an area under Palestinian Authority administration.

The community of Ein Samiya was forcibly displaced from Wadi as-Seeq in 2023, one of dozens of Palestinian Bedouin communities emptied since October 7, 2023. The Israeli far right has used the Hamas-led attack on Israel to ramp up attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and seize more land.

Abu Najjeh’s family was originally from the Bir al-Saba area in the Naqab Desert before being expelled from their homes by Zionist paramilitary forces during the Nakba in 1948. They were later pushed north to the West Bank, controlled by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, and then again after Israel captured the West Bank in a war.

In 1967, the Israelis forced them out once more, this time giving them 24 hours’ notice before expelling them towards al-Muarrajat. Throughout the 1970s, various Israeli military orders pushed them around different areas in the southern West Bank and towards Ramallah.

The community eventually found a home in Ein Samiya, where they lived for over 40 years. However, starting in the 1990s, they faced periodic demolitions of their tents. The current displacement has left Abu Najjeh wondering “where is there to go?” as his family faces another forced relocation.

In recent days, hundreds of sheep and two tractors were stolen from a member of Abu Najjeh’s extended family in Jiljilyya, and the community is now facing another wave of violence. The killing of Yousef Kaabneh has sparked concerns about the safety of Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

As Palestinians mark Nakba Day on May 15, commemorating the forced expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes during the formation of Israel, Abu Najjeh’s community faces another day of uncertainty and displacement.

Source: Al Jazeera