Jewish settlers steal hundreds of sheep from Palestinians in occupied West Bank

Groups of illegal Jewish settlers have stolen more than 200 sheep from Palestinians in the village of Ein Al-Auja, to the north-east of Jericho, Wafa news agency has reported.

The supervisor of Al-Baidar Organisation for Defending the Rights of Bedouins, Hasan Mleihat, said that settlers from nearby outposts targeted a local resident’s flock. He added that the community is one of the largest in the West Bank and is a target of frequent assaults and violations by Israeli soldiers and settlers alike.

According to Wafa, attacks include physical assaults on citizens, demolition of homes and confiscation of land, destruction of crops, seizure of property, setting up ambushes at night to terrorise citizens and preventing shepherds from accessing pastures. Following an attack against Ein Al-Auja in June, Jewish settlers searched houses and livestock pens before stealing ten sheep, explained Mleihat. He added that the settlers also “assaulted residents and fired gunshots.”

These provocations have intensified recently, coinciding with the growth of colonial outposts in the area north-west of Jericho. He noted that the occupation authorities and settlers are exploiting the war on Gaza to carry out the largest collective displacement operation against Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank

Israel has illegally confiscated about 27,000 acres of land in the occupied West Bank and forced 25 Palestinian communities to leave since the start of the war on Gaza last October. The apartheid state is continuing its decades-long land grab, a Palestinian government body reported earlier this year. 

Like hundreds of other Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, Ein Al-Auja village is located in “Area C” according to the Oslo Accords, putting it under full Israeli military and administrative control.

All of Israel’s settlements and the settlers who live in them are illegal under international law.

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