In recent years — and especially since 7 October 2023 — there has been a sharp increase in both the number and severity of settler attacks against Palestinians. The incidents reported on this blog do not reflect all incidents of settler violence in the West Bank, but only those that B’Tselem was able to document and investigate.
Al-’Alya (al-Jizi), Ramallah District: Settler violence forced the Hassan family out of the home they lived in for decades, on land belonging to residents of ‘Ein Yabrud
The community’s shacks after the expulsion. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
The Hassan family lived in the community of al-’Alya (al-Jizi), between the villages of ‘Ein Yabrud and Deir Dobwan, on land belonging to residents of ‘Ein Yabrud and defined as Area B under the Oslo Accords. It was home to four brothers and four sisters, all unmarried, who made their living from shepherding. The family, refugees from the Ramle area, settled at this location decades ago.
The family suffered regular harassment by settlers from nearby outposts, who would wander around their shacks, usually on Saturdays, but stopped short of physically assaulting them. On Saturday, 15 February 2025, around midnight, family members noticed a new outpost set up about 800 meters from their homes. The very next morning, at around 6:00 A.M., three settlers arrived at the community and threatened Akram Hassan, 44, in Hebrew. They told him the land belonged to them and then left. About an hour later, when only the four sisters were home, two settlers arrived again and tried to enter the homes. They demanded to use the toilet and intimidated the women.
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On the right: The community’s structures after the displacement
On the left: The outpost built above it. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
That evening, two settlers arrived again, wandered around the structures, invaded some of them, and shone flashlights on the residents and the livestock pens. They then climbed a nearby hill and threw stones at the homes and residents for about ten minutes. When the attack was over, the residents discovered a chainsaw had been stolen from one of the structures.
In the following days, the settlers returned to harass and threaten the family. When two settlers threw a bag of garbage at the entrance to one of the homes on Thursday, 20 February 2025, an altercation erupted that devolved into stone throwing between the family and the settlers.
The next night, about 10 settlers came to the community, shone flashlights at the homes and threw stones at them. The family members had to stay in their homes for several hours and only came out after the settlers left.
On 21 February 2025, the family left due to the attacks. The four sisters and some of the brothers moved to a house they own Qalandiya R.C., and the others moved with their flock to land owned by acquaintances in the village of Deir Dobwan.
B’Tselem field researcher Mohammad Romaneh collected testimonies from family members on 21 February 2025:
Akram Hassan, 44, said:
We’re refugees from the village of Beit Jiz in the Ramle district. In 1948, our family sheltered in several places before settling in the al-’Alya area decades ago. It’s considered Area B and is part of the town of Deir Dobwan, but the plots we live on belong to residents of ‘Ein Yabrud.
On Thursday, 20 February 2025, three settlers showed up with a bag of garbage and threw it at our front door. We got into an argument and ended up throwing stones.
Then, during the night, more than 10 settlers attacked our community. They threw stones at us for hours and shone flashlights on us. We were afraid for our lives and had no choice but to hide inside.
When the attack ended, we talked and decided to leave the community to save our lives and the sheep, and also keep the settlers from stealing the sheep.
‘Ali Hassan, 58, said:
From 16 to 21 February 2025, we underwent severe harassment by settlers who came from the new tent they set up here. They reached a new level of violence and harassment.
One time, they came to the community and stole a saw we used to cut trees; another time, they came with a bag of garbage and threw it at one of our homes. One day, they stood up on a hill about 100 meters from our shacks and threw stones at them.
Every time the settlers came to our homes, we tried to handle the situation peacefully, because we didn’t want it to escalate.
The settlers who came were 18 to 25 years old, all dressed as religious Jews. Sometimes they came early in the morning, sometimes during evening prayers, and sometimes at night. They would come two or three at a time.
On Friday, 21 February 2025, after a week of especially extreme violence, we decided to leave the community we lived in for decades. Some of us went with our flock to stay with friends in the village of Deir Dobwan, and my sisters and my other brothers moved to an apartment we have in Qalandiya R.C. in northern Jerusalem.
We were forced out of our homes. We didn’t choose to leave. We left behind us shacks and belongings worth tens of thousands of shekels. None of us has dared go back to the community since that day, for fear of running into the settlers. We left behind water and feeding troughs for the sheep, and a lot of furniture that we had difficulty moving. We only took clothes and furniture light enough to carry, and moved the sheep on foot.
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The outpost established near the al-’Alya community. Photo: Mohammad Romaneh, B’Tselem
