Hebron- Dozens of Palestinian residents of Khallet al-Dabaa, a small community in the southernmost part of the West Bank, have not succumbed to repeated attempts to displace them, and the result has been a victory, albeit a risky one.
Attempts to displace the residents of the community, located in Masafer Yatta (south of the city of Hebron) Today, about 115 members of 16 families, including 38 children, are subjected to construction and demolition of their homes, as well as repeated attacks by settlers from the surrounding outposts.
On May 5, the occupation wiped the village out of existence by demolishing 25 structures, including most of its houses, caves and wells. This was the second demolition in two months, but its residents did not leave and insisted on staying with simple means above the rubble of their homes.
The second development was on May 26, when settlers attacked the community and seized one of the remaining caves belonging to Abdullah al-Dababsa, built an outpost on it, assaulted and expelled its residents, then the Israeli army came and arrested the owner of the cave instead of evicting the settlers.
Pussy and danger
The residents of Khallet al-Dabaa did not surrender to the fait accompli and moved in two directions: The first to the Israeli judiciary and courts, and the second to issue an urgent appeal to international human rights organizations, embassies and consulates of major countries, calling on them to intervene and protect the community.
On the judicial level, the residents obtained a decision to evict the settlers, which they saw as a victory and an important gain, according to Mohammed Rab’i, head of the local council in the village of Tawana, which is part of the Khallet al-Daba’a community.
Rab’i explained that occupation army On Sunday, the Israeli army declared the community a closed military zone and removed all non-residents from it, including foreign solidarity workers and journalists, but the solidarity workers returned later, as did the settlers who took over the cave.
The head of the council said that residents’ fears of renewed settler attacks are still present, especially from four surrounding settlement outposts that were established after October 7, 2023, the start of the genocidal war on Gaza and the escalation in the West Bank.
Existing fears
On the other hand, the head of the council explains that the local council’s actions and appeals resulted in the arrival of several delegations representing 15 international media outlets and local and international relief, humanitarian, health and human rights organizations this morning to the village, but they collided with a checkpoint of the occupation forces that blocked their path and prevented them from reaching Al-Tuwana village, where they were scheduled to go to Khallet Al-Dabaa.
He added that the occupation forces completely closed Al-Tuwana village, and dozens of guests outside the entrance to the village were not allowed to enter even on foot.
Jaber al-Dababsa, a resident of Khallet al-Dab’a, whose home has been demolished eight times since 2018, said that the residents breathed a sigh of relief after the court’s decision to evict the settlers, explaining that they left their caves and sat on the rubble of their homes and what was left of them after seven harsh days due to the presence of the settlers.
He described the Israeli court’s decision to remove the settlers as “great, and it came as a result of the steadfastness and survival of the residents on the one hand, and the efforts of the local council and solidarity on the other.”
However, he added that fears remain, “We woke up to the closure of the village again, preventing entry or exit, as human rights and media delegations were scheduled to arrive to familiarize themselves with the conditions of the residents.”
He added that while the village is closed, settlers enjoy freedom of movement in the neighboring outposts and even congregate there by the dozens without knowing their intentions.
Control of the land
The residents of the village work in agriculture and livestock farming, and a few of them are employees. Due to the persecution and repeated attacks and preventing them from entering large areas of land, some of them were forced to sell their sheep, but they still remained on their property.
According to Rab’i, the settlers controlled more than 95% of the agricultural lands in the area after October 7, 2023, indicating the escalation of the policy of demolishing homes and facilities, which affected 72 facilities during the same period, while 9 settlement outposts took control of all the hills surrounding Palestinian villages and communities.
The villages of Masafer Yatta are located in an area classified by the occupation as a “firing zone” and is trying to displace its Palestinian residents.
According to a report by the Wall Resistance Authority and settlements Settlers carried out 341 attacks against Palestinians and their property in West Bank during April, including armed attacks, vandalism, bulldozing, uprooting trees, seizing property, and closures.
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2025-06-02 14:07:00
