المكتب الوطني للدفاع عن الارض ومقاومة الاستيطان منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية
مقالات مشابهة
By: Madeeha Al-A’raj
The ‘National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that the Pastoral Farms’ that were built on a large scale in the West Bank by the Occupying State have become a key element in the current government’s colonial settlement and ethnic cleansing projects, and a tool in the struggle against the establishment of a Palestinian State and against Palestinian construction in Area C. According to Israeli media, this represents a tactic that shatters the balance, through which the occupying state reasserts control over areas it relinquished as part of the 2005 disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. Those in charge of the project maintain secrecy regarding the farms, their location, and their operation.
Consequently, there is no official, accurate information about their number or the extent of their impact on the ground. Information about their size, number, and the extent of their control is being received by the media from Israeli anti-settlement groups, most notably the Tamror Research Group, according to this organization the number of these farms has reached 133 across the West Bank. Considering that, according to this organization, not a single farm existed on the ground in 2021. This is a staggering number of farms. Data indicates that settler organizations have made intensive efforts in recent years to build more farms. In 2022, there were 64 farms in the West Bank, but in 2023, the number reached 82, while the number in 2024, the number rose to 118. According to Tamror, the current number stands at 133, the value of these farms lies not only in their number, but also in the grazing lands they seize.
Data clearly demonstrates the devastating impact of these farms on the land. Evidence of this is abundant. In 2012, there were 29,000 dunams of grazing land in the West Bank cultivated by settlers, mostly in the northern West Bank and the northern Jordan Valley. The area developed and expanded, reaching 116,000 dunams in 2018, in the same locations and a few points in the southern Hebron Hills. The most significant change occurred in 2019 and 2020, when the farms began to grow rapidly. By the end of 2020, the area controlled by these farms reached about 312,000 dunams of grazing land, mostly in the northern and central West Bank (Samaria and Binyamin, according to Israeli terminology), with increasing indicators in the Hebron Hills. In 2023, the area seized by these farms reached 254,000 dunams, to which an additional 116,000 dunams were added in 2024. This year, 2025, expansion was limited to about 7,000 dunams due to the fact that open land is running out between Palestinian villages and cities and Israeli settlements, in addition to existing farms, there is not much land left to seize in Area C.
Within the context, the settlers of the hills and farms have developed a new method for displacing Palestinians from their land. Their method is violence and the establishment of more settlement outposts and terrorist pastoral farms next to Palestinian towns and villages in Area C. With the establishment of these outposts and farms, the suffering of Palestinians begins with attacks on residents, the theft of their belongings, and the oppression of their people. In the absence of what the occupation calls a law enforcement authority, Palestinians remain abandoned to their fate, their lives, homes, and property threatened, and they will soon realize that the only way to protect themselves and their property is to leave. Indeed, according to data from the Israeli organization Kerem Navot, about 60 Palestinian communities in Area C have been expelled since the war.
The latest victim of the expulsion method is the Bedouin village of Maghayir Ad-Deir, near Ramallah. Its residents have lived there for nearly 40 years, but it took the settlers less than a week to expel them. The outpost established a week earlier on the village’s borders escalated into a complete uprooting. The outpost was built less than 100 meters from the homes of Ad-Deir. The army and the Civil Administration failed to evacuate it or take steps to protect the Palestinian residents, who left their homes for fear of their safety.
Thus, a mass expulsion was carried out under the State and the army’s orders. The terrorist ‘Hilltop Youth’ don’t operate alone, they can’t only establish outposts and expel communities, but also send representatives to the Knesset and the government. Indeed, MK Zvi Sukkot was documented at the outpost. A petition to the High Court of Justice requested an interim measure: the evacuation of the outpost and the relocation of the settlers 3 kilometers away from the village, along with a permanent police presence.
The terrorist ‘Hilltop Youth’ enjoys full support from the occupation government. Recently, Army Minister Yisrael Katz appointed reserve Colonel Avichai Tanami as a special coordinator for relations with this terrorist organization, weeks after the decision to halt the use of administrative detention orders against settlers who carry out ongoing attacks on Palestinians. The decision came after consultations with the National Security Council, the Shin Bet, the Attorney General, and other government agencies, according to a statement by Katz. This step reflects a government trend to dismantle the legal tools previously used to curb settler terrorism.
The new coordinator is known to be a right-wing settler, and his selection for the position has sparked widespread criticism due to his affiliation with the ‘Hiptonistim’ ‘Security’ organization, which includes former officers belonging to the extreme right. The organization’s members support settlement expansion and refuse to prosecute settler terrorism, especially the “Hill Youth.” The decision also aligns with the positions of parties such as Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, which provide political cover for these groups.
On the other hand, aid continues to flow to the settlements through various means via a large number of ministries in the occupation government. The Israeli Ministry of Education recently decided to withdraw hundreds of millions of shekels from support for suburban high schools and direct them to institutions located in West Bank settlements, under the pretext of classifying them as ‘security-threatened areas’. The decision was made without allocating an additional budget, meaning that support for the peripheries will be reduced in favor of the settlements.
Under the new amendment to the budget allocation criteria, funding will be transferred to 7 educational institutions in the Beitar Illit settlement, 4 in the Efrat settlement, and 4 others in the Binyamin settlement council in the central West Bank. Budgets allocated to areas located on the outskirts of non-main cities and towns will also be transferred to 2 schools in the Elkana settlement in the Qalqilya Governorate, in addition to an educational institution in the Beit El settlement in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, and another in the southern Hebron Hills.
This move comes in cooperation between Likud Education Minister Yoav Kisch and FM Smotrich, who is responsible for the occupation’s ‘Civil Administration’ under his coalition agreement with Netanyahu. The Education Ministry justified the move by an update made by the Israeli Army Ministry to the definition of ‘security threat’, which allowed for the inclusion of new institutions on the list of those eligible for budget support.
In addition, the occupation government funds private security companies for East Jerusalem settlers with hundreds of millions of shekels. According to recent data published by the Ministry of Finance at the end of last May, in 2024 alone, the Israeli government spent about NIS 101 million operating private security companies guarding approximately 3,000 settlers living in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, such as Silwan, the Muslim Quarter, Ras al-Amud, and others.
This amounts to About NIS 3,000 per month for each settler. Private security guards occupy fixed positions in most settler homes, escorting children and families from their homes wherever they may be, whether for work, school, extracurricular activities, or any other destination. The settlers themselves effectively control the budget for settler security in East Jerusalem. Each year, settlers seize additional homes and properties in Palestinian neighborhoods, and the Housing Ministry is forced to finance the security of these new locations. Consequently, the settler security budget continues to grow and expand.
The so-called Ministry of Diaspora Affairs funds settler propaganda with millions of shekels. Last week, the ministry announced that it had received funding to hold conferences and tours for opinion leaders from Israel and abroad, as well as to produce and distribute media content. This activity is defined as part of the ‘fight against de-legitimization of Israel’, but it is allocated exclusively to authorities in the West Bank and Golan Heights settlements. Peace Now commented, ‘While the government raises taxes, cuts services, and places the entire burden of the cost of war on the public, millions are being spent to finance the political campaigns of a minority of fanatical settlers.
The claim of fighting de-legitimization is merely a pretext, while it is clear to everyone that this money is intended solely for the political purposes of settlers beyond the Green Line.’ The Diaspora Ministry didn’t specify the amount of funding allocated to outreach activities in the settlements. According to the call for proposals, each authority can receive funding of up to one million shekels. There are 24 local authorities in the settlements and two more in the Golan Heights, so this amount could theoretically reach NIS 26 million.
The allocation of these budgets is accompanied by the plunder of Palestinian funds for the benefit of settlers. The Knesset Finance Committee is currently examining a budget request submitted by the Ministry of Finance for an additional NIS 35 million to fund the construction of cellular antennas in the West Bank by the Civil Administration, with the aim of improving cellular coverage for settlers. The antennas will be built by the Civil Administration and leased to Israeli and Palestinian cellular phone companies.
The financial source for the antennas is the ‘Civil Administration Regional Development Fund’, which relies on funds collected by the Israeli police from Palestinians ‘through confiscations, fines … etc.’ and aims to serve the Palestinian population.
Although Palestinian telecommunications companies will also be able to lease the use of the antennas, their locations will be chosen based on the needs of the settlers. This is not the first time the government has used funds allocated to Palestinians to support settlement projects. Last March, the Israeli government approved the allocation of NIS 335 million shekels from the fund to pave the so-called ‘Sovereignty Road’, which will close off central areas of the West Bank to Palestinians.
Finally, as part of the ethnic cleansing policy, on May 26, the occupation forces delivered new demolition notices targeting all 45 homes in the Nu’man Village, located east of Bethlehem. This is the second time in a few months that residents have received these collective notices. This is a criminal act that threatens the existence of an entire village, home to more than 150 people, most of whom are children and women. The notices targeted homes built decades ago, meaning that this isn’t a random construction, but rather homes that existed before the occupation. However, the occupation has been preventing any construction, renovation, or expansion in the village for more than 25 years.
The occupation’s policy aims to displace the village’s residents and annex it to the borders of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem. This comes after the occupation military court approved a year and a half ago the imposition of the ‘Arnona’ property tax on all homes in the village over the last 6 years, where about NIS 30,000 – 60,000 was paid for each home.
List of Israeli Assaults over the Last Week Documented by the National Bureau:
Jerusalem:
- Forcing the residents of the Bir Ayoub Neighborhood to demolish a Diwan built 2 months ago above the neighborhood mosque in the Silwan town, claiming that it was an unlicensed addition.
- Demolishing the home of Jerusalemite Nour Totah on the pretext of not having a license in the town of Beit Hanina. They also demolished a barracks belonging to citizen Ishaq Odeh in the Ein Al-Lawza Neighborhood. They served demolition notices for a home in the town of Silwan belonging to Jerusalemite Rashid Al-Qamari in the Al-Bustan Neighborhood, which was built 10 years ago.
- Handing over Fakhri Abu Diab, a researcher in Jerusalem affairs, a demolition order for a mobile home he had erected next to his home, which was demolished by the occupation bulldozers in Nov 2024. The caravan was inhabited by him and his wife.
- Forcing Ishaq Hashem and his son Ahmed to demolish their homes in Beit Hanina, built in 2004, on the pretext of building without a permit, and Ahmed Khalil al-Abbasi was forced to demolish the floor of a room in the al-Muroj Neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukaber. They also forced Hashem family to demolish his home in Beit Hanina. The left-wing Israeli organization Ir Amim said that May set a record for 2025 in terms of the number of buildings demolished by Israel in East Jerusalem. The organization, which specializes in Jerusalem affairs, stated that according to its data, “May recorded the highest number of demolitions in 2025 so far, with a total of 33 buildings demolished, including 16 residential units and 17 non-residential buildings.” Adding, “This brings the total number of demolitions in East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year to 93, including 53 residential units and 40 non-residential buildings.”
Hebron:
- Demolishing a house, walls, and a water well in the village of Irfaiya in Masafer Yatta. The house belonging to Jihad Shehadeh Al-Amour and housed 5 people. They also demolished a two-room house in the town of Idhna, belonging to Waddah Abu Juhaisha, and filled in a well.
- Uprooting dozens of olive saplings, released their livestock onto the lands of Moh’d Ibrahim Al-Adra in the Huwara area, east of Yatta, and vandalized the fence surrounding the land.
- Attacking farmers in the Sa’ir town, northeast of Hebron, in the At-Tafuf area.
- Assaulting Dalal Awad in the village of Khallet Al-Daba in Masafer Yatta, during their raid on Khirbet Al-Tuba, storming and searching citizens’ homes. They pushed her to the ground after chasing her and storming her home, which resulted in her suffering bruises. They also notified the demolition of 30 shops and commercial establishments in the Ar-Ramadin town, south of Hebron, at the entrance to the town and the main road connecting the towns of Adh Dhahiriya and Ar-Ramadin. These shops and establishments are a chain of stores, which constitute the main and sole source of income for a large number of families.
- Bulldozing 12 tents and a home in Khallet Ad-Dabaa, affiliated with the At-Tuwana Village Council in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. Head of the village Council, Moh’d Rabie, said that the occupation forces stormed with their heavy machinery Khallet Ad-Dabaa in Masafer Yatta, and demolished 10 tents, 2 homes, and 4 health units, belonging to the Al-Dabbasah family, and sheltering about 60 people, most of whom were children and women. The occupation forces also destroyed the main and secondary electricity and water networks, and bulldozed the trees and crops surrounding the homes and tents.
- Erecting 2 tents on Palestinian land in the Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron, in the village of Susya, brought a large number of sheep and cows and released them among the residents’ homes.
- Chasing shepherds and expelled them from their lands at the Tel Ma’in site, in the Carmel town, south of Hebron.
Ramallah:
- Attacking lands in the Sinjil town, in the areas of Al-Ma’ashriya and Batn Al-Halawa, north of the town. They also grazed their cows on the citizens’ crops there, causing damage to them. They also prevented citizens from entering the area.
- Erecting a tent east of the Al-Mughayyirvillage, near citizens’ homes, and assaulted the citizens there and any citizen present on his land. Moreover, security sources reported that the occupation bulldozers demolished a house belonging to Anwar Samih Al-Na’san and forced his family to evacuate it. They also razed a garden belonging to the village council.
- Burning 2 vehicles in the village of Rammun, wrote racist slogans on citizens’ homes, and raised the flags of the occupying state.
- Gathering at the entrance of the Um Safa town adjacent to a public street frequented by residents, waving Israeli flags, before setting off on a provocative march that reached the ‘Halmish settlement’, built on the lands of the Nabi Saleh town. Israeli forces closed the road to Palestinian vehicles to secure the march, and the settlers carried out acts of violence and repeated provocations against Palestinians in the area.
- Assaulting citizens, forcing them to leave their lands, and released their sheep onto agricultural crops in the Ni’lin village.
- Establishing a cemetery in the “Mala’achi Shalom/Angels of Peace” settlement outpost located in the vicinity of Al-Mughayyir and Turmus Ayya to bury the settler, who was killed in the northern Gaza Strip while carrying out demolition work there after the explosion of the excavator working there.
- Destroying more than 30 olive trees in the “Al-Suwar” area in the Kafr Malik town. Others destroyed more than 70 olive seedlings belonging to Wadi’ Khaled from the Turmusaya town, and 30 other seedlings belonging to Yasser Jawdat from the village of Abu Falah.
- Establishing a new settlement outpost on citizens’ lands, on the ruins of the homes of a Palestinian family that was displaced about a year ago in the village of Taybeh, following a series of violent attacks. Others rebuilt a settlement outpost on citizens’ lands in the Sinjil town on the hill south of the town and performed Talmudic rituals.
Nablus:
- Injuring 2 citizens during a settler attack on the village of Osarin, after falling while confronting the settlers, who were attacking the village. They were transferred to a clinic inside the town. Settlers also set up a tent on village lands in another attack. Bulldozing streets, water lines, and agricultural lands in the Duma town. Meanwhile, settlers closed the main entrance to the village of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya and performed Talmudic rituals under the protection of occupation soldiers.
- Assaulting a citizen and his wife by beating them, spraying them with pepper spray, and stealing a number of sheep in the Khirbet al-Tawil.
- Publishing calls on social media, asking the occupation army to demolish homes and infrastructure on the main street of the Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya village.
Salfeet:
- Bulldozing lands in the Sarta village, west of Salfeet, in an escalation aimed at seizing more Palestinian land for settlement expansion.
- Stealing an agricultural tractor in the Marda village, while the occupation forces delivered 8 demolition and stop-work orders for homes and barracks in the Bruqin town. The orders affected 6 inhabited homes, all of which contain 12 residential apartments, in addition to 2 stop-work orders for 2 agricultural barracks.
Jordan Valley:
- Invading the Arab al-Malihat Gathering, northwest of Jericho, and censuses the sheep there, and established a new settlement outpost, reinforced with a pen, a herd of cows, and a water tank, in the Quba Plain in the northern Jordan Valley.
- Establishing a new settlement outpost west of the Al-Auja town, fixed iron fences near the so-called Na’aran settlement, unleashed their cows to destroy rain-fed and irrigated crops for a number of citizens in the Qaoun Plain, located west of the Bardala village, and stole agricultural headstock and dozens of sheep from Khirbet Samra in the northern Jordan Valley.
