JERICHO, August 1, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists set fire early Friday morning to residential shelters belonging to the Bedouin community of Arab al-Mleihat northwest of Jericho, east of the occupied West Bank, forcing families to flee once again, just one day after returning to their land following a month of forced displacement.
WAFA correspondent reported that six residential shelters were torched, displacing 20 families who had insisted on returning to their homes despite continued threats and pressure and harassment from Israeli occupation forces and colonists.
Hassan Mleihat, general coordinator of the al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, said the attack began around 1 a.m. when dozens of colonists—under Israeli military protection—stormed the area and deliberately set fire to the shelters housing both people and livestock. The assault caused complete destruction of property and posed a serious risk to residents' lives.
Mleihat described the attack as part of a systematic campaign aimed at erasing the Palestinian Bedouin presence in the Jordan Valley. He accused Israeli authorities of granting colonists free rein to carry out ethnic cleansing operations without legal or humanitarian accountability, in the face of “shameful international silence and the failure to provide protection to civilians.”
He called for an urgent and transparent international investigation into this crime and demanded accountability for those involved, including those within the Israeli military establishment who provided protection for the attackers.
Moayyad Shaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, said the latest displacement of Arab al-Mleihat families is part of a broader colonial strategy by the Israeli government—specifically led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—aimed at fully annexing and Judaizing the al-Mu’arajat region, a strategically located area connecting Jericho to other West Bank cities.
Shaban noted that the families were forced to flee under direct threat and violence from armed colonists, with military backing. He praised the resilience of the Arab al-Mleihat residents, reaffirming the Commission's commitment to supporting the community through humanitarian aid and logistical support.
Shaban renewed calls for national and institutional mobilization to protect Bedouin communities, warning that increased settler attacks have raised the threat level for civilians across the West Bank.
Since the start of 2025, colonists have carried out at least 2,153 attacks, resulting in the deaths of four Palestinian civilians. These assaults have included raids on villages, arson attacks on homes, gunfire, the establishment of illegal outposts, land confiscation, road and vehicle sabotage, and large-scale violent campaigns.
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