‘Arab al-Khuli / ‘Ayun Kafr Qara’ (Wadi Qana), Qalqiliyah District: Israel drove a decades-old community from its home

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On Friday, 27 February 2026, all residents of the shepherding community of ‘Arab al-Khuli, located on the western slopes of Wadi Qana east of the village of Thulth, were driven from their homes. The community comprised 17 families numbering 107 people, including 49 minors. The families, from the ‘Odeh and al-Khuli families, had lived there for decades, making a living from herding sheep and cattle – two herds of cattle numbering about 50 cows, and nine flocks of sheep numbering more than 1,000 animals – as well as farming land on the slopes of Wadi Qana.

The families were forced to leave their homes and disperse among the communities of Kafr Thulth, ‘Azzun and al-Mudawwar after about five years of land takeover, grazing restrictions, harassment, attacks and threats by settlers, who mainly came from the Nahal Kane/Dorot Illit Farm outpost established at the end of 2020 on land belonging to Bidya, about three kilometers south of the community.

On 13 July 2023, four settlers who arrived from the direction of the outpost attacked a 13-year-old boy from the community because he was wearing a shirt with a rifle print on it. When his relatives tried to protect him, the settlers attacked and beat them as well. About two hours after the settlers left, dozens of settlers arrived from nearby settlements, some armed with sticks, attacked residents and injured at least four people. The settlers also burned and vandalized tents and damaged food supplies, solar panels and water tanks. Military and police forces that arrived at the scene detained several residents for a few hours and prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the area. None of the settlers were arrested.

On 7 October 2023, the military disconnected the community’s water pipe, and settlers and soldiers blocked the three roads leading to it. The community subsequently petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice through the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Bimkom, demanding that one of the roads be reopened. After that, the community’s grazing areas were reduced even further, and settlers arriving from the outpost frequently entered the community with a herd of cattle, walked between the homes and repeatedly damaged fields and property. In early February 2026, residents planted winter crops, but settlers drove more than 100 cows into the fields, destroying the crops.

On the morning of 25 February 2026, a settler who arrived from the direction of the outpost threatened residents that if they did not leave, they would be harmed and their sheep and cattle would be stolen. Residents contacted the Israeli DCO, but officers who arrived at the scene told them the settlers had permits to remain in the area and that the residents themselves had to leave. Fearing for their lives following the threats, all the families left the community.

‘Othman ‘Odeh, 42, a father of four, talked in a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi on 28 March 2026 about the terror settlers imposed on the community for years and how the residents were driven out under threat to their lives:

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אני, אבא שלי והאחים שלMy father, my brothers and I make a living from raising livestock and have lived for decades in the Wadi Qana area, in a place known as ‘Ein Kafr Qara’ or ‘Arab al-Khuli. Our extended family has lived there since the beginning of the 20th century, and raising sheep and cattle has been passed down from generation to generation thanks to the natural grazing areas, water sources and farmland we own. Our flocks number about 200 sheep, and relatives from the al-Khuli family and other residents in the area have another 1,500 sheep and about 150 head of cattle. Alongside grazing, we also grew olives, wheat and vegetables.

At the end of 2020, an outpost was established about three kilometers south of where we lived. At first there was almost no friction, but after a few months a settler named Ben Yishai (known as Da’ud), who has a herd of about 130 cattle, began taking over more and more land, forbidding us from grazing there and even from passing through with our sheep.

At first he marked imaginary boundaries over about 500 dunams [50 hectares] of olive groves and grazing land near the outpost, in the northern part of Bidya’s land, claiming he had purchased the land. Later he expanded the area under his control to Wadi al-Hamam, which belongs to residents of Siniriya and Kafr Thulth and lies about halfway between the outpost and our homes. He then continued taking over land closer and closer to us, until by 2023 he was already grazing his cattle near our residential compounds.

On 13 July 2023, settlers attacked a 13-year-old boy from our family after he wore a shirt with a rifle print on it. They tore his shirt, and when my brothers and relatives tried to protect him, four settlers attacked them, set a dog on them and beat them. As they were leaving, they tried to run over my 75-year-old uncle, who fell and was injured. About two hours later, masses of settlers arrived from several settlements and attacked residents. Four residents were injured, three of them over 70. The settlers set fire to a tent with a three-year-old child inside, tore other tents apart and vandalized food supplies, solar panels and water tanks. Military and police forces that arrived separated the sides, detained about seven Palestinian farmers for several hours and prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded.

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After that incident, the settlers’ harassment escalated and included entering homes, vandalizing food supplies and bringing cattle to graze in the olive groves. After 7 October 2023, settlers and the military blocked the main access roads to the community and set up a military post on the road connecting the community to Kafr Thulth. To reach Kafr Thulth, which is only three kilometers away, we had to drive about 56 kilometers. The cost of the trip rose from about 5 shekels [≈ USD 1.40] to about 200 shekels [≈ USD 56]. We were forbidden from grazing our sheep and had to feed them expensive fodder.

In 2024, we filed a petition through the organization Bimkom demanding that the road be reopened. The court ordered it reopened, but the military and settlers did not implement the decision. On 19 May 2024, settlers stopped a truck carrying fodder, stole 40 sacks weighing 50 kilograms each, and tore open and spilled another 18 sacks. All this happened in front of soldiers who were there, even though we had coordinated the truck’s arrival with the Israeli DCO. In another incident at the beginning of 2025, the military detained my two brothers while they were grazing our flock about 500 meters from home. Soldiers beat them, handcuffed them, put sacks over their heads and held them at a military base until evening. During all that time the flock was left unattended, and settlers took advantage of it to steal 28 sheep from us.

On 13 February 2026, settlers riding an ATV stole eight goat kids from us after threatening my brother and pointing a gun at him. Four days later, settlers arrived at our farm in a vehicle with a trailer and stole 13 feeding troughs for the sheep.

Starting on 22 February 2026, one of the settlers began coming onto our land every day to provoke and intimidate us. He brought his cows near our livestock pens, cut the fences and grazed his cattle in our pea, barley and wheat fields and among the olive trees in the grove. He told us that within a few days war with Iran would break out, “and then we’ll kill you and your sheep if you don’t leave.”

On 25 February 2026, settlers arrived on an ATV, blocked the road and prevented us from leaving the community, while threatening all the residents with death. Because of the settlers’ terror and violence, our fear for our families’ lives and our fear for the flocks, we had no choice but to leave. Before we left, Israeli soldiers also arrived, and a man who introduced himself as an Israeli liaison officer told us the settlers had the right to be wherever they wanted and that we needed special permits from the Israeli authorities to remain there. We were forced to move to Kafr Thulth, and now we are facing severe difficulties because we have nowhere to build pens for the flocks and nowhere to graze them.