Qais Omar Darwesh Omar
22 May 2026•Update: 22 May 2026
The home of a Palestinian resident in the Al-Mu'arajat Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank has turned into a “daily siege point” amid repeated Israeli occupier presence around the property aimed at forcing the family to leave their land.
Eid Abu Fazzah al-Kaabneh told Anadolu that Israeli occupiers regularly gather for hours near the family’s home, bringing flocks of sheep and camels into the surrounding agricultural land and olive groves.
“We wake up every day to occupiers and their livestock around our home,” he said, describing what he called ongoing pressure and intimidation against residents of the community east of Ramallah.
The “Abu Fazzah” Bedouin community is located near the Al-Mu'arajat road east of the village of Al-Taybeh and is home to several Palestinian families living in concrete houses, tin structures, and tents.
Overnight raids
Resident Abu Fazzah said the harassment has escalated beyond daytime intimidation to include nightly raids on homes, searches, confiscation of vehicles and personal belongings, and forcing residents -- including children -- out of their homes before dawn.
“They come at 2 am and force us to leave our homes, leaving children outside in the cold, then they seize our cars and belongings,” he said.
According to Abu Fazzah, occupiers repeatedly bring livestock into farmland surrounding the homes, damaging fences and stone barriers around agricultural plots and sheep pens.
He said occupiers entered his olive grove three times in one day despite an Israeli court order requiring them to remain at least 50 meters away from the fence surrounding the land.
“The decision is not implemented on the ground,” he said.
‘Impossible for us to leave’
During Anadolu’s visit to the area, residents said Israeli occupiers threw stones toward the community.
Residents added that an Israeli military site is located only meters away from the homes, but settler presence and attacks near the area continue.
The residents’ hardships have also intensified due to a water outage affecting the community for more than 17 days, according to locals.
Despite the pressure, Abu Fazzah insisted the families would remain on their land.
“It is impossible for us to leave, even if we die here,” he said.
Awad Abu Fazzah, another resident of the community, said families installed surveillance cameras around homes to monitor occupier movements and warn residents of possible attacks.
The occupied West Bank has witnessed a rise in occupier attacks in recent months, particularly in rural and Bedouin areas near illegal settlements and outposts, which Palestinians say frequently serve as launching points for attacks on residents and their property.
According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, 1,637 occupier-related attacks were recorded in April alone amid a continued rise in violence since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Palestinian figures indicate that Israeli army offensives and occupier attacks in the West Bank since then have killed 1,162 Palestinians, wounded nearly 12,245 others, and led to the arrest of around 23,000 people.
*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.
