‘This land belongs to the Jews’… Palestinian residents in 5 West Bank towns ordered by IDF to leave

Times of Israel

The residents of 5 Palestinian towns in the West Bank were ordered by the IDF to leave because a ‘security fence’ will soon be built, making it ‘impossible’ for them to live there.

The IDF visited the communities of Farisiya, Hammamat al Maleh, Ein al-Hilweh, Samra and Makhoul, where several dozen families live in total.

A resident of one of the communities, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life and that of his family, told The Times of Israel that the commander of the IDF unit arrived with about five soldiers and an Arabic-speaking officer, a Druze man who introduced himself as a member of the Civil Administration. The commander introduced himself, after which the Arabic-speaking officer ordered them to leave their homes, telling them to evacuate their homes, saying ‘Take your ID and go…This land belongs to the Jews.’

A second resident, who lives in a different community, tells The Times of Israel that a similar visit took place at his home that same day by the brigade commander accompanied by an Arabic-speaking officer. ‘He [the Arabic-speaking officer] told me, ‘We will build a fence up there, and you won’t be able to stay here when we build the fence. It’s better that you leave rather than that we demolish your house,’ he quotes the officer. ‘He spoke to me alone. My family was afraid to come out [of the house]. This is the first time something like this has happened,’ he adds.

A resident of a third community tells The Times of Israel that during the meeting, the brigade commander spoke in Hebrew and the Arabic-speaking officer translated his remarks. ‘He said, ‘What was before October 7 is not what will be after October 7. The land might be yours, but you don’t have permission to live here anymore, it’s ours.’

An Israeli activist from the group Jordan Valley Activists, who also asks not to be named, tells The Times of Israel that during the visit to the community where he accompanies residents, the brigade commander told him the place was expected to be demolished soon and that the residents had no future there. ‘He told me, ‘Listen, we’re doing this for them. There is no future for this place. The Civil Administration will demolish it within the next year’.

According to Jordan Valley Activists, 22 such communities in the northern Jordan Valley have left their dwellings over the past two years amid settler violence.

The Civil Administration has not responded to a request for comment.

An IDF spokesperson confirmed the visit by the officer, saying it was aimed at ‘providing the communities with a sense of security and emphasizing that the IDF is responsible for the security of all residents in the area.’