Israel court orders return of Palestinian villagers, demands army protect them from settlers

The Israeli High Court of Justice on Monday ordered the state to allow Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank village of Zanuta to return to their homes after they were forcibly displaced twice, reported Haaretz.

Located in the southern Hebron Hills, the village has faced repeated raids and destruction by Israeli settlers. The court mandated that police and occupation forces ensure Israeli settlers are “continuously and with proper diligence” kept away from the Palestinian village and its lands. Additionally, the justices directed the state to allow the rebuilding of essential infrastructure that Israeli settlers had demolished during the villagers’ absence.

Justices Isaac Amit, Noam Sohlberg and Daphne Barak-Erez issued the ruling in response to a motion for contempt of court after the state failed to uphold a previous agreement permitting the Palestinian villagers’ return. Despite that agreement, ongoing Israeli settler raids, harassment that hindered grazing activities and law enforcement’s failure to intervene forced residents to abandon their homes a second time.

Khirbet Zanuta’s residents fled the village in October 2023 amid escalating settler violence in Area C of the occupied West Bank. During their absence, many homes were destroyed or damaged, and an EU-funded school was bulldozed. Despite a High Court order on 29 July for the Israeli occupation army and police to facilitate their return, Israeli settlers and authorities continued to violate the Palestinian villagers’ process to resettle.

Some residents returned on 21 August, but less than three weeks later, they were threatened with demolition orders from 2007 unless they agreed to relocate. By 12 September, all villagers had left again due to ongoing settler attacks and the demolition threats.

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A motion filed by Dr Quamar Mishiqi Assad, a lawyer representing the NGO Haqel, revealed that police officers on the scene refused to remove settlers from Khirbet Zanuta and even claimed that the settlers were permitted to remain. The High Court of Justice’s ruling emphasised that Israeli police and military forces must ensure the removal of Israeli trespassers from the village and private lands. The court instructed the state to coordinate the villagers’ return by no later than 16 February.

The villagers were initially forced to leave in November 2023 due to violent attacks by settlers, who destroyed several structures after their departure. Although a July 2024 court ruling allowed their return, Israeli settlers once again invaded the village, harassed residents, and used drones to intimidate their herds. Furthermore, the Israeli Civil Administration refused to permit the rebuilding of destroyed structures or the installation of new sheds, citing the area’s classification as an archaeological site.

The justices condemned the state’s failure to protect the Palestinian residents and uphold the previous court ruling. They ordered that any buildings destroyed by unauthorised parties, rather than the state, must be allowed to be rebuilt.

During a January hearing, acting Supreme Court President Isaac Amit criticised the state’s lack of response in the face of settler violence, referencing photographs that showed settlers inside Palestinian village homes. “There are photographs that speak for themselves and [to the] zero response from your side,” Amit said. He highlighted the presence of Yinon Levi, a settler who had previously been sanctioned for his role in expelling the villagers and was added as a respondent in the case.

Amit further questioned the state’s inconsistent enforcement, stating: “Why is there no ban on the entry of Israelis? Once, you said it was impossible, but in another case, it was enforced.” He also noted that, despite an earlier court order prohibiting the use of drones, Israeli settlers continued to operate drones over the village’s land, harassing the sheep.

According to Haaretz, the justices reiterated in their ruling that Israeli forces operating in the West Bank are “obligated to defend the region’s protected residents against violence or any breach of the law.” They stressed that dispatching police cars alone was insufficient and that effective investigative measures were essential.