JERICHO, July 4, 2025 (WAFA) – Thirty Palestinian families were forcibly displaced on Friday morning from the Arab al-Mleihat Bedouin community, located northwest of Jericho in the eastern occupied West Bank, following repeated assaults and provocations by Israeli occupation forces and armed colonists.

WAFA correspondent reported that the families began dismantling their tents and leaving the area early Friday, after facing intensified harassment, threats, and violence carried out by colonists under the protection of Israeli soldiers.

This latest wave of forced displacement follows the expulsion of 20 other families on Thursday. Arab al-Mleihat is home to 85 families—approximately 500 people—all of whom are now at risk of forced removal.

Colonist attacks on the community have escalated significantly in recent weeks. The most recent incident involved the establishment of a colonial outpost just meters from residents’ homes, built under the protection of the Israeli military.

Alia Mleihat, a resident of the community, told WAFA that her family was forced to flee to the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, south of Jericho, after armed colonists threatened local families and forced them to leave at gunpoint.

Hassan Mleihat, general coordinator of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said that the remaining families in Arab al-Mleihat are also preparing to evacuate in the coming days due to the escalating attacks.

He added that colonists held a provocative celebration as the families began leaving, and even erected a new tented outpost early Friday morning.

Mleihat emphasized that the colonial outposts have become hubs of constant aggression and terror, with local residents subjected to systematic violence including beatings, tent destruction, livestock theft and poisoning, and the blocking of access roads—all under the watch and protection of Israeli military, police, and settlement authorities.

M.N