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The petition asks the Court, among other things, to:<\/p>\n
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- Prevent the use of closed military zone orders<\/strong> that are being used to keep residents off their land, and refrain from declaring the community\u2019s goat pen a closed military zone.<\/li>\n
- Prevent residents of the Carmel settlement and nearby outposts from encroaching on village land<\/strong>, carrying out works on it, or blocking access to it.<\/li>\n
- Remove fences blocking areas used by residents<\/strong> and ensure access to their courtyards.<\/li>\n
- Protect residents from harassment and violence<\/strong>, take criminal and administrative enforcement measures against those responsible, and provide the community with a designated contact person or dedicated telephone number for reporting incidents in real time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Peace Now:<\/strong> \u201cIt is neither the first time nor any surprise that the establishment of outposts leads to increased settler violence and harm to innocent people. The Umm al-Khair community is facing mounting pressure from harassment and violence perpetrated by residents of the Carmel settlement and nearby outposts. The takeover of private land, the blocking of access routes, and damage to infrastructure and essential communal spaces are intended to make residents\u2019 lives unbearable and drive them out. This is forced displacement, plain and simple. The authorities are failing to provide even minimal protection and, at times, effectively enable settler actions. The Court is therefore being asked to compel the authorities to protect the land, guarantee free access to it, and prevent further harm to residents and to the fabric of life in the village.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The Scale and Sources of Harassment\u00a0<\/strong>Incursions and harassment have become an almost daily occurrence. Dozens of complaints have been filed with the police, and dozens of appeals have been submitted to the authorities, without a response.\u00a0Most of the violence originates from the Carmel settlement and nearby outposts: the Barkai neighborhood, Shorashim Farm, and Mishak Man. In one previous case, a restraining order<\/a> was issued against Shimon Attia, from Shorashim Farm outpost.\u00a0Violence has also been perpetrated by settlers from other outposts. In July 2025, settler Yinon Levi, from the Mitzrim Farm outpost, shot and killed<\/a> village resident Odeh al-Hadalin. Approximately one year later, an indictment was filed against Levi, charging him with causing death through recklessness.\u00a0In many cases, security forces fail to remove those trespassing on Palestinian land. Instead, they sometimes remove Palestinians, detain them, or prevent them from accessing their land through closed military zone orders.<\/p>\n
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Main Forms of Harm to the Umm al-Khair Community<\/strong><\/p>\n
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- Loss of access to land and areas surrounding residents\u2019 homes <\/strong>Residents are gradually losing access to areas they can use safely. The area available to them is shrinking as settlers erect fences and damage orchards and agricultural land.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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- Blocking the route to school and harming children <\/strong>In March 2026, a barbed-wire fence was erected across a footpath that village children had used to walk to school for decades. This is an example of how the harm inflicted on residents extends to education and children\u2019s rights.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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- Damage to water and electricity infrastructure <\/strong>Infrastructure was damaged during development works for the establishment of the Barkai neighborhood. In August 2025, a water pipeline supplying approximately half of the community was damaged. Water service was restored only five days later. In September 2025, another water pipeline and the village\u2019s electricity line were damaged. Repairs to the infrastructure were delayed due to settler interference<\/a>. In one incident, settler Yissachar Man physically obstructed repair work. These incidents left residents without water and electricity for days, including during the extreme heat of August that year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- \n
- Takeover of a family courtyard and denial of basic necessities <\/strong>Since May 2026, there have been repeated incidents of intrusions into a family\u2019s courtyard<\/a>, preventing the family from using the toilet facilities located there, issuing threats, hanging flags, dismantling fences, taking belongings, and harassing family members. The harassment has included peering into the family\u2019s home and toilet facilities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- \n
- Attacks on communal spaces and personal security <\/strong>Settler youths have repeatedly entered the village\u2019s central playground and harassed children<\/a> and other residents. In some cases, when police arrive at the scene, it is the village\u2019s children who are removed and not the settlers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Caravans-Um-Al-kheir-ENG.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Umm al-Khair Village Council, located in Masafer Yatta in the southern Hebron Hills, and Peace Now petitioned today (15 October 2026) to the Israel\u2019s High Court of Justice, represented by attorney Michael Sfard\u2019s law office. The petition asks the Court to order the Israeli military, police, and Civil Administration to protect Umm al-Khair\u2019s residents,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":44287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[4134,4400,3993],"class_list":["post-60541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-settlement-watch","tag-court-petition","tag-settlers-violence","tag-um-al-khair"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60541"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60545,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60541\/revisions\/60545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Attacks on communal spaces and personal security <\/strong>Settler youths have repeatedly entered the village\u2019s central playground and harassed children<\/a> and other residents. In some cases, when police arrive at the scene, it is the village\u2019s children who are removed and not the settlers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Takeover of a family courtyard and denial of basic necessities <\/strong>Since May 2026, there have been repeated incidents of intrusions into a family\u2019s courtyard<\/a>, preventing the family from using the toilet facilities located there, issuing threats, hanging flags, dismantling fences, taking belongings, and harassing family members. The harassment has included peering into the family\u2019s home and toilet facilities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Damage to water and electricity infrastructure <\/strong>Infrastructure was damaged during development works for the establishment of the Barkai neighborhood. In August 2025, a water pipeline supplying approximately half of the community was damaged. Water service was restored only five days later. In September 2025, another water pipeline and the village\u2019s electricity line were damaged. Repairs to the infrastructure were delayed due to settler interference<\/a>. In one incident, settler Yissachar Man physically obstructed repair work. These incidents left residents without water and electricity for days, including during the extreme heat of August that year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Blocking the route to school and harming children <\/strong>In March 2026, a barbed-wire fence was erected across a footpath that village children had used to walk to school for decades. This is an example of how the harm inflicted on residents extends to education and children\u2019s rights.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
- Prevent residents of the Carmel settlement and nearby outposts from encroaching on village land<\/strong>, carrying out works on it, or blocking access to it.<\/li>\n