Stop the Ethnic Cleansing in the Northern Jordan Valley
- ACRI
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
ACRI filed an urgent petition with the Supreme Court on July 2, 2026, on behalf of the seven remaining Palestinian herding communities in the northern Jordan Valley: Al-Farisiya, Ein al-Hilweh, Khirbet Humsa, and Khallet Makhoul. In the petition, we demanded that the military, the police, the Civil Administration, the Minister of Defense, and the Attorney General take immediate action to prevent the continued displacement of these communities and enable the return of communities that have already been forcibly displaced, while providing them with effective protection.
The petition describes how, over recent years, and especially since October 2023, deliberate policies being carried out in the Jordan Valley have led to the uprooting of Palestinian shepherding communities: settler violence; the establishment of illegal outposts near residents’ homes; denial of access to grazing lands, water sources, and access roads; discriminatory enforcement; and the absence of protection by State authorities. As a result, eleven communities have already been displaced from the northern Jordan Valley, while the seven remaining communities are now at immediate risk of displacement. Much of the information presented in ACRI's petition is based on the work of human rights defenders from the Jordan Valley Activists group who have witnessed these expulsions and displacements up close.
The State is not only failing to protect the communities but also enabling the ongoing process of displacement both actively and through neglect. This policy amounts to ethnic cleansing and is a violation Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and Israeli administrative law.
Among other things, ACRI is asking the Court to order the State to:
Exercise the military’s authority to provide effective protection to residents against settler violence and remove anyone who harasses them;
End the cooperation of security forces with harassment and displacement carried out by civilians;
Enforce the law against illegal construction and fences erected by settlers that prevent the communities from accessing their land;
Ensure that Palestinian residents have safe access to grazing areas, water sources, and other essential services and infrastructure.
Supreme Court Petition 6824-07-26 B. v. Commander of IDF Forces in the West Bank
Attorney: Reut Shaar
The petition, July 2, 2026 (Heb)
Appeal by ACRI and Jordan Valley Activists, March 16, 2026 (Heb)
