JERICHO, July 4, 2025 (WAFA) – Approximately 20 Palestinian families were forcibly displaced from their homes last night in the Arab al-Mleihat community, located northwest of Jericho in the eastern occupied West Bank, following repeated attacks and harassment by Israeli forces and colonists.

Hassan Mleihat, General Supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, told WAFA that the families—part of a larger group of 85 families residing in the area—have begun dismantling their tents and leaving due to continuous provocations and violence from Israeli colonists and military forces.

According to Mleihat, the entire community—comprising around 500 individuals—is now at risk of displacement. Large groups of Israeli colonists have set up positions both within and along the edges of the community.

In a statement issued Thursday evening, Al-Baidar warned that the forced displacement threatens to erase the Arab al-Mleihat community both historically and culturally. The organization described the actions of Israeli forces and colonists as a war crime and a clear violation of international humanitarian law. It also issued an urgent appeal to the international community to intervene.

The situation escalated further on Wednesday when Israeli colonists established a new outpost just 150 meters from Palestinian homes in the area. The colonists brought livestock, set up pens, and erected tents in the newly seized location.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, since October 2023, at least 30 Palestinian Bedouin communities have been forcibly displaced as a result of violence and pressure from Israeli forces and colonists across the West Bank.

M.N