Witnessing the Expulsion of a Community

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January 20, 2026

Goats from a nearby settler outpost grazing on what was the home of a resident of Ras al-Ain

Dear friend,

This past Wednesday, members of ACRI’s staff visited the village of Ras al-Ain in the southern Jordan Valley in the West Bank. Ras al-Ain was home to about five communities of approximately 110 Bedouin families. “Was,” because it is in the process of being dismantled and evacuated, after being forcibly expelled by settler harassment and violence.  

Ras al-Ain is just one example of many of a longstanding community that has been forced to leave after enduring sometimes years of fear and violence from settler outposts. Since October 2023, forcible expulsions of Palestinian communities in the West Bank have become increasingly common.  At best, when Palestinians try to alert the army or the police to the violence, they receive a weak or indifferent response from the —at worst the army and police actively support the settlers.  

On the night of March 7, 2025 dozens of settler vehicles arrived at Ras al-Ain. The people who disembarked were armed with clubs and firearms, and were accompanied by soldiers (or people dressed as soldiers). Hundreds of sheep were stolen from the community that night. Ras al-Ain is a shepherding community, so the widespread theft of the sheep stole from the community its only source of livelihood. Residents appealed to the police for help, only to be told that any complaints would need to be filed in-person at the police station on Sunday, two days after the incident. The residents who managed to get to the police station to file a complaint were treated dismissively. No suspects were questioned. The only person who was detained was a Palestinian resident of the village who tried to prevent the thefts. 

This proved to be the settlers’ opening salvo against the village. At the beginning of August 2025, settlers began making moves to establish a new outpost in the western area of the village. Intimidation and violence escalated. Settlers would drive loud ATVs through the village at all hours of the night, leaving residents unable to sleep through the night and sending a message that they felt free to act with impunity. Sometimes they would enter homes in the middle of the night while families were sleeping. Settlers brought flocks of sheep: consequently, residents became fearful of allowing their own flocks to graze, because they knew that if the sheep mixed they would be stolen by the settlers, but the Palestinians would be accused and arrested for theft. Settlers also brought camels, which they allowed to roam freely through the village and who tore through grazing areas. Life became increasingly stressful and circumscribed for Ras al-Ain's residents: sheep could no longer graze, a major blow to a shepherding community, and individuals became increasingly fearful of leaving their homes.

In August 2025, as settlers began encroaching on Ras al-Ain, ACRI submitted an amicus curiae request to the Supreme Court to join the petition brought by the village’s residents against their forced expulsion. We sent another appeal in October as the settler outpost began extending into the village itself. But the harassment and violence continued, aided—or at least not prevented by—the Israeli authorities, and community members began to leave.

A family loading a truck, preparing to leave the village

By the time we arrived on Wednesday, parts of the village were dismantled and abandoned, and a number of families were in the midst of their own preparations to leave. By the end of this week, chances are that Ras al-Ain will no longer exist. But seeing the village, speaking to the residents who fought long and hard, and against all odds, for their most basic rights to remain in their homes and live their lives in peace, was important.

We will not stop our work helping Ras al-Ain and other communities like it. We are using the legal and public awareness tools at our disposal, and trying new methods in order to combat and stem the tide of settler violence. However daunting the odds, it is legally, psychologically, and morally essential for these communities to know that they have advocates who will tirelessly work on their behalf.

Together we are the voice speaking for those who are being trampled upon. Donate Now.