Israeli settlers forcibly displace 15 Palestinian families near Jericho

Illegal Israeli settlers, protected by occupation forces, displaced 15 Palestinian families from their homes in the village of Duyuk al-Tahta, west of Jericho, on Wednesday. Local sources reported that approximately 50 armed settlers, accompanied by a military bulldozer and an Israeli army vehicle, stormed the community, demolishing residential structures constructed from tin and concrete.

Looting and Forced Expulsion

Witnesses stated that the settlers forcibly removed residents from their properties, looted personal belongings, livestock, and vehicles, and imposed a ban on their return. The assault renders more than a dozen families homeless, adding to the growing wave of displacement sweeping the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

Surging Violence and Systematic Terror

According to the Palestinian government's Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, January alone witnessed 1,872 separate attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers against Palestinian civilians and their property. These incidents included physical assaults, agricultural destruction, land seizures, and home demolitions, resulting in the displacement of 125 families. Since October 2023, official Palestinian figures record at least 1,112 fatalities, approximately 11,500 injured, and over 21,000 detained across the West Bank.

Legal and Political Context

Sunday's cabinet-level Israeli decisions to alter the West Bank's legal and administrative framework mark an official acceleration of settlement expansion. Palestinians view these measures—alongside the intensifying military operations—as a deliberate strategy to preempt the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders, a prospect Israel continues to reject since its establishment in 1948.