In tents and tin shacks lacking the most basic necessities of life, about 59 Palestinians live in the Bedouin community of “Khallat al-Sidra” east of the town of Mikhmas, east of occupied Jerusalem, fighting to remain on their land, which the Israeli occupation seeks to expand for settlement purposes.“Khallat al-Sidra” represents a real point of confrontation with a huge settlement project that seeks to erase the Palestinian presence in a strategic area.The community is constantly subjected to a series of harassments and attacks by settlers under the protection of the occupation forces, including raids and attacks on its residents, preventing them from accessing basic services, as well as burning houses and stealing the water tank.Its inhabitants depend on raising livestock as a primary source of livelihood, and they have an existential connection to the land, as it constitutes for them a source of livelihood, identity, and belonging.On October 25th, the residents of the community were subjected to another attack, carried out by dozens of settlers who stormed the community at night, assaulted them, and burned down 9 houses with all their contents, turning them to ashes.
Extreme terrorCitizen Youssef Kaabneh, a resident of the community, told Safa News Agency: “Every day we live in terror, fearing that settlers will storm our homes, attack them, and burn our property, as happened to us on October 25th.”He adds, “Our story of suffering began in November 2022 with the construction of the first settlement outpost near the community, through attacks on grazing areas and water wells, and then it developed.”He explains that since October 7th, the community has been subjected to a frenzied attack by settlers and occupation forces, with the aim of displacing us and uprooting us from our land, and taking control of all Bedouin communities.He continues, “The community is breathing its last, with the settlers’ attacks continuing, our only source of livelihood being lost, sheep being stolen, and some of the pens being burned.”Kaabneh calls on all local and international institutions to intervene urgently to stop settler attacks against them, provide them with protection, and support their steadfastness on their land.“Khallat al-Sidra” is one of 28 Bedouin communities living through a real, relentless war with settlers, who are trying to besiege them, displace the Palestinian population, and expel them from their lands, in favor of settlement expansion.Daily sufferingHassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the Al-Baydar human rights organization, says that the suffering in Khallat Al-Sidra is not fleeting or temporary, but rather a continuous daily suffering, represented by the absence of basic infrastructure, as there are no electricity networks, no water, no qualified roads, no schools, and no health center.In an interview with Safa News Agency, Mleihat explained that residents resort to small generators or solar panels, but their cost is high and they do not serve the purpose. Water is also transported by tankers from distant places, and this is very expensive.The children walk long distances to reach the nearby village schools, due to the difficulty of the road leading to the gathering, as it is dirt and rugged.The suffering did not stop there, as Mleihat adds, the residents are subjected to continuous raids by settlers and occupation forces, in addition to delivering demolition notices and preventing construction, confiscating tents and barracks without warning, as well as arresting shepherds or threatening them with false charges such as “being present in a military area,” as well as placing barriers of rocks or wires to prevent passage.He explains that this suffering is intentional and not the result of neglect, but is repeated in order to psychologically exhaust the residents, noting that the occupation even prevents the development of the area in order to make life unsustainable and push the residents to leave.He affirms that the targeting of the people of “Khallat al-Sidra” by the occupation and its settlers is not for security reasons as they claim, but rather a political settlement, given that the community is located within an area that is considered part of the settlement project (E1).According to Mleihat, the settlement project aims to link the settlements east of Jerusalem with the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and those leading to the Jordan Valley, in addition to separating the northern West Bank from its south, and preventing any future Palestinian expansion in the area.
Suffocation and displacementHe believes that the presence of the Palestinian community in “Khallat al-Sidra” constitutes a direct obstacle to the implementation of this settlement project, so the occupation is trying to stifle it and create hostile living conditions, and to force the residents to leave the land without using direct force in front of the media.Despite the attacks and restrictions imposed by the occupation, the residents of the community remain steadfast and hold fast to their land, considering it the basis of their identity and source of livelihood.Mleihat emphasizes that steadfastness in the community constitutes an existential battle, represented by holding onto the land, family and social solidarity among families, and the residents’ reliance on livestock gives them a minimum of economic independence, not to mention the presence of activists and supporters who sometimes accompany the herders and document the attacks with cameras.He emphasizes that the residents need a real presence and support to strengthen their resilience, protect the land from confiscation, preserve the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and its surroundings, and thwart settlement plans.
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