The United Nations Human Rights Office has issued a stern condemnation of ongoing settler attacks against the Bedouin community of Al-Mu’arrajat between Ramallah and Jericho in the occupied West Bank. 

The statement highlighted the apparent complicity of the Israeli occupation forces in the violent campaign, calling on Israel to take immediate measures to prevent the forced displacement of Palestinian Bedouins in the region.

On the morning of 16 September, around 15 Israeli terrorist settlers launched a brutal attack on the Arab Al-Mulaihat mixed primary school and nearby homes in Al-Mu’arrajat.

The settlers, armed with sticks and iron bars, assaulted teachers, students, and activists who were present to protect the community. 

Nine Palestinians were injured during the four-hour rampage, including four female teachers and a foreign activist.

Although the Israeli army arrived at the scene, they did not intervene to halt the violence. Instead, they arrested the school’s principal and another community member, allegedly for injuring one of the settlers during the altercation. 

This incident follows a disturbing trend of violence and intimidation targeting the remaining Bedouin communities in the West Bank.

Just days before the attack on the school, on 12 September, settlers poisoned approximately 130 livestock belonging to Palestinian herders in the area. 

On 15 September, the Israeli forces arrested three activists who were protecting the community, which has faced near-daily harassment from Jewish settlers to force them to vacate their lands and homes.

The assault on Al-Mu’arrajat is part of a broader campaign aimed at displacing Bedouin communities across the West Bank, particularly in the Jordan Valley. 

The statement also cited the recent displacement of the Um Al-Jamal Bedouin community, which was forced to abandon its lands after incessant terrorist settler harassment. Now, the area stands empty of Palestinians.

Moreover, the UN warned that the forced displacement of Bedouin communities would further facilitate the expansion of Israeli outposts and settlements, advancing Israel’s unlawful annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territory. 

This annexation, the statement noted, undermines the Palestinians' self-determination.

While the Khirbet Zanuta community in the southern Hebron hills won a court order permitting their return to their land after fleeing settler violence, Israeli authorities have reportedly obstructed their return. 

Besides the Israeli settlers destroying their homes, Israeli authorities have imposed discriminatory planning laws, offering only to relocate the community to a remote area adjacent to Areas A and B. This highlights the collusion between settler violence and state policies.

Furthermore, the statement revealed that more than 1,600 Palestinians, primarily from herding and farming communities, have been forced to leave their homes since 7 October due to settler violence and restrictions on necessities like water and grazing land. These actions are reportedly enforced with the assistance of Israeli authorities.

The UN rights office has called on the Israeli government to take immediate action to prevent further displacement and to hold accountable those responsible for the violence. 

The international community is also urged to step up efforts to ensure the protection of Palestinian communities facing systematic attacks in the West Bank.

This escalating violence raises concerns about the future of Palestinian communities in the West Bank as settler activities intensify under apparent protection from Israeli forces.