On Sunday, Israeli paramilitary forces launched an attack on Palestinian villagers in the village of Hawara in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, wounding seven. In addition, colonial paramilitary forces invaded the town of Tubas, in the central West Bank, to harass Palestinian residents.
Following the attack by the colonizers in Masafer Yatta, the Israeli occupation forces abducted three Palestinians – but did not arrest the paramilitary settlers who launched the attack.
Local resident Osama Makhamra told Wafa news that a number of colonists attacked the family of Ibrahim Ismail Al-Jabour while its members were on their land near their home in the village, beat them, and sprayed pepper gas at them, which led to the injury of seven citizens, including the elderly Ibrahim Ismail Al-Jabour, Fatima Ibrahim Al-Jabour, Souad Jibril Al-Jabour, Rawaa Ismail Al-Jabour, and Rahaf Omar Al-Jabour, in addition to the child Mustafa Al-Jabour and the child Habiba Al-Jabour They were transferred to Yatta Hospital for treatment.
Makhamra pointed out that the Israeli occupation forces then abducted three Palestinian family members: Qasim Ibrahim Al-Jabour, Yasser Yousef Al-Jabour, and Ibrahim Omar Al-Jabour.
It is worth noting that Masafer Yatta is a cluster of Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills, in the southern occupied West Bank. For more than 40 years, Israeli authorities have sought to forcibly displace its residents.
In the 1980s, Israel declared much of Masafer Yatta a closed military zone known as “Firing Zone 918”. The zone spans approximately 8,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian agricultural land and encompasses 18 communities. Three—Kharoubeh, Khirbet Sarura, and Simra —were largely depopulated following violent settler expulsions in 2000 and 2022.
Today, around 1,200 Palestinians, including 500 children, live in the firing zone. They face military restrictions that threaten their security, erode living standards, and entrench poverty and aid dependency.
In 1999, the Israeli Civil Administration issued eviction orders for 12 of the 18 communities. That November, Israeli forces expelled 700 residents and demolished homes and infrastructure. Residents returned after the expulsion.
In May 2022, Israel’s High Court dismissed petitions against the forcible transfer of up to 1,200 residents. More information about Masafer Yatta can be found in this article by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has been providing legal support for the Palestinian residents of the villages.
Israeli forces and paramilitary colonial settlers have repeatedly invaded and attacked the villages to attempt to forcibly displace the indigenous Palestinian residents.
Armed Israeli settlers stormed Palestinians’ lands in the town of Tayasir, east of Tubas, and attack Palestinian farmers:
