Settler families moved into eight buildings today in the Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta neighborhood of Jericho, in Area C, adjacent to the border with Area A, with the backing of the Nachala movement and the Binyamin Regional Council.
Human rights activists who were present at the site report that around 30 settlers arrived around noon, some of them armed, and took over several homes. According to reports, they assaulted and robbed two Israeli activists and shot a Palestinian man in the leg.
The Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta area has recently been subjected to daily settler attacks, usually carried out by settlers arriving from the direction of the “Palaces Farm” outpost, established about two years ago west of Jericho. In February and July of this year, settlers demolished approximately 13 homes in the neighborhood, without any legal authority, and have continued to regularly attack the Palestinian residents of the neighborhood. The archaeological site known as the Hasmonean Palaces is located about 500 meters away. The Netanyahu government recently decided to allocate NIS 20 million to develop the site.
As early as last week, on election day, settlers arrived in the neighborhood and began extensive fencing work and infrastructure connections. They broke into homes and stole equipment, assaulted residents, erected a gate blocking access to an entire street, and cut off access to dozens of Palestinian homes. Today, families moved into houses in the neighborhood which, according to the settlers, they had purchased from their Palestinian owners.
Establishing a settlement in Jericho could create a reality similar to that in Hebron, placing an enormous burden on the IDF to protect an Israeli population in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood. In Hebron, the Israeli presence in the Palestinian city has led to constant friction and violence, severe restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement, and the imposition of an apartheid regime. It has also resulted in the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and the closure of entire streets to Palestinians.
It is important to emphasize that even if a genuine purchase did take place, rather than a forgery, the government still has the authority to decide whether to allow the settlement to be established. The defense minister and the IDF may determine, on security grounds, that Israelis are not permitted to reside at the site. In addition, a transaction permit from the defense minister is required, and we do not know whether one was issued in this case. It should be noted that last February, the cabinet decided to eliminate the requirement for transaction permits. However, no corresponding order has yet appeared in the official legislation databases.
Peace Now: Establishing a settlement inside Jericho poses a security threat and constitutes a geopolitical disaster that must not be allowed to happen. This move is designed to deepen friction and violence, entrench an apartheid regime, and foreclose any possibility of a future political agreement. A settlement in Jericho will create additional flashpoints and trigger further violence, while dragging the military into unnecessary and life-threatening missions whose sole purpose is to protect a handful of messianic extremists bent on dragging Israel into the abyss. A caretaker government that has not received a mandate from the public has no authority to impose such far-reaching political and security realities on the ground. The IDF must therefore evacuate the new settlement in Jericho immediately.
