Palestinian Bedouin in West Bank pack up and prepare to flee due to harassment by Jewish settlers

(17 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ras Ein al-Auja, West Bank - 16 January 2026
1. Various of activists gathered to support Ras Ein el-Auja residents
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sarit Michaeli, International Director at B’Tselem:
"Recently Israeli settlers have established several outposts around and even within the community of Ras Ein el-Auja using their own sheep, goats and even camels to harass, to intimidate, to threaten, and to attack the Palestinian residents of this community that have no protection. Because the only bodies that can have any authority over the Israeli settlers are Israeli bodies, the Israeli army, the Israeli police, and those bodies have been assisting the settlers, so not protecting the Palestinians and in fact harming the Palestinians."
3. Various of activists gathered to support Ras Ein el-Auja residents
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Harizat, Ras Ein el-Auja resident:
"The suffering we have been experiencing, we have been suffering for two years because they (settlers) came and set up a settlement outpost, bringing sheep and camels, and they prevented us from taking our sheep to the pastures. They have denied us access to water, electricity, and all the essentials of life that were available to us."
5. Various of activists gathered to support Ras Ein el-Auja residents
STORYLINE:
Families from one of the last remaining Palestinian Bedouin villages in the dusty corridor between Ramallah and Jericho packed up and prepared to flee from their homes on Friday.

Some sold their sheep and are trying to move into the cities; others are just dismantling their structures without knowing where to go.

"We are afraid for our sons, afraid for our daughters, afraid for our sheep and our properties. We were forced to leave because of how much we have suffered; we cannot continue," said Mohammed Harizat, a resident of Ras Ein el-Auja.

The village of Ras Ein el-Auja was originally home to some 700 people, about 130 families which lived there for dozens of years.

Activists gathered on the hills of Ras Ein el-Auja to protest against the expansion of Israeli settlers and subsequent dismantling of the village and displacement of its Palestinian residents.

"Recently Israeli settlers have established several outposts around and even within the community of Ras Ein el-Auja using their own sheep, goats and even camels to harass, to intimidate, to threaten, and to attack the Palestinian residents of this community that have no protection," said Sarit Michaeli at the protest, the international director of B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group.

"The army and the police don't do anything to protect Palestinians from this violence," she said. "Those bodies have been assisting the settlers, so not protecting the Palestinians and in fact harming the Palestinians."

Settler violence on Ras Ein al-Auja began intensifying after the October 7, 2023 attacks, said Palestinians.

In December, settlers put up an outpost about 50 metres (164 feet) from a Palestinian home in the village, according to activists for Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine.

Since then, settlers have made life unbearable, Palestinians said.

Shepherds’ cars had rocks thrown through the windshields and sheep and laundry were stolen.

International activists had to begin escorting the children to school to keep them safe.

Residents said their calls for help go unanswered by Israeli police and the settlers act with impunity.



As Jewish settlers double down on shepherding as a tool to seize land, Palestinians say de-facto annexation is already happening on the ground.



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