Thousands of #PalestineRefugees from #Gaza – labourers and medical patients with their accompanying family members – remain stranded in the #WestBank since October 2023, unable to return to their homes and without a regular source of income.

Umm al Kheir is located immediately next to the Israeli settlement of Carmel. In the past days, tensions have mounted. Armed settlers have been entering the community during the day and at night, damaging property and attempting to extend the fence of the settlement deep into Umm al Kheir’s land.

For several years, the #PalestineRefugees of Umm al Kheir in the South Hebron Hills have been facing settler harassment and violence, home demolitions and administrative measures that cumulatively erode the way of life of this Bedouin community that @unrwa.org serves.

Following months of aggravated harassment directed towards the site and the entry into force of two anti-UNRWA Knesset laws in January 2025,
@unrwa.org was forced to vacate the compound and withdraw under protest all its international staff.

The group asserted they were “liberating” the “former UNRWA headquarters” on the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which for Israelis marks the reunification of the city. However, under international law, East Jerusalem is occupied territory and its annexation by the State of Israel is not recognised.

This incident is a stark reminder of the lax use of excessive force routinely deployed by Israeli Security Forces in the #WestBank, often with lethal consequences. While the West Bank is not a war zone, so far this year 137 Palestinians have been killed in occupation-related violence.