The settlement of Beit Hagai, south of Hebron, is a clear illustration of how the settlement enterprise operates. A few hundred settlers living amid hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Another post in our ongoing series on the South Hebron Hills. Thread. 1/ In September 2021, we published a detailed post about the settlement of Beit Hagai, explaining how Israel officially confiscated the lands allocated to the settlement — and how the settlers continued the looting, taking over vast areas around it. >>

Israeli hostages are home, Trump’s back in Washington — and we’re left with the far-right and the settlers. We return to the South Hebron Hills, where the illegal outpost Havat Otniel has been rebranded as the “new settlement of Afeka”. Thread. 1/ At the end of May, it was revealed that Israel’s criminal and corrupt government had secretly approved the establishment of 22 new settlements. >>

We are Back in the Hebron Hills - Wadi Sa‘ir. Over many of the last 25 years, Road 356 has been blocked and turned into a settlers-only road. Since 7/10, several Sa‘ir shepherding communities have been expelled, and settlers keep burning and cutting down olive groves. Thread. 1/ Wadi Sa‘ir road connects the village of Sa‘ir to its northern farmland and to the rural area of the Ta‘amra southeast of Bethlehem. >>

The new vineyard planted on land of Palestinians from as-Samu‘ is watered by a pipeline coming from the settlement of Shani. There isn't any “formal” seizure order — settlers just invaded 60 dunsms with full impunity. Part 4 in our South Hebron Hills series. Thread. 1/ The new vineyard, visible to anyone driving along Route 3718 in the South Hebron Hills toward the “Shani checkpoint,” tells the story of the time. But before the vineyard, a reminder. >>

After Oct 7, settlers from Adora, backed by the army, expelled Khirbet a-Taybah’s residents. Homes looted & burned, lands sealed. On the ruins, a new outpost now stands — marked by brown signs as an “archaeological site”. Part three in our series on the South Hebron Hills. Thread 1/ Drivers on Route 35, heading from the Green Line up toward Hebron, pass on the right the settlement of Adora. About a kilometer after its entrance, a narrow and clearly substandard road veers off. >>

Since the 1980s, Israel seized tens of thousands of dunams from the Palestinians of ad-Dhahiriya. Now settlers are grabbing another 460 dunams — right across from the Mt Hebron Regional Council — land farmed by Palestinians until Oct 7. Part two on Hebron Hills. Thread. 1/ In the early 1980s, Israel began looting hundreds of thousands of dunams across the West Bank through declarations of “State Land.” >>

Since summer 2023, settlers have expelled 6 Palestinian shepherding communities south of as-Samu‘ and seized 1000s of dunams. Now they’ve built a new outpost next to a road linking the last 2 surviving hamlets, another step toward making the area “clean” of Palestinians. Thread. 1/ In the past two years, settlers have succeeded in expelling six shepherding communities and hamlets south of as-Samu‘: Maktal Msallam, Widadi (two hamlets), Khirbet ar-Radheem (two hamlets), and Atiriya. >>

1/ The West Bank has been undergoing rapid transformations in the two and a half years since Netanyahu’s current criminal government came to power. >> 2/ Dozens of Palestinian communities have been expelled from their homes, and hundreds of thousands of dunams have been effectively sealed off to Palestinians. >>

This week, Israel declared hundreds of dunams belonging to three Palestinian villages west of Nablus as “State Land.” The goal: to legalize the violent outposts of Havat Gilad and Havat Yetedot and to enable their expansion in the future. Thread. 1/ On Monday this week (September 1, 2025), Mr. Yossi Segal, who holds the title of “Custodian of Abandoned and Government Property in Judea and Samaria” issued a certificate. >>

Thousands of olive trees were uprooted in al-Mughayyir following a military order issued by Apartheid General, Bluth: 300 dunams were cited, but 620 were destroyed. Meanwhile, settlers carve new roads for more land grabs — all under army protection. Thread. >> 1/ A few days ago, we published a post describing the “shaping operations” of Apartheid General Bluth, east of the village of al-Mughayyir, during which thousands of olive trees belonging to the village’s residents were savagely uprooted. >>

Last week, General Avi Bluth ordered that 1000's of olive trees in al-Mughayyir be uprooted, although collective punishment is outlawed under intl law. Settlers have already illegally seized thousands of dunams in this area; now the army is helping them to grab more. Thread. 1/ The Israeli media reported that a Palestinian from the village of al-Mughayyir fired his handgun at a settler, wounding him lightly. In response, the Apartheid General Avi Bluth, issued a military order titled “Order Regarding the Taking of Security Measures No. 25/25.” >>

Last summer we reported on the repeated arsons that ravaged the agricultural enclave of the Palestinian village of Husan, swallowed by the massive ultra-Orthodox settlement of Beitar Illit. That story is part of a wider pattern - settlers’ arsons across the West Bank. Thread. 1/ In recent years, settlers have set hundreds of fires. At first, the targets were cars, shops, agricultural structures, equipment, and sometimes mosques. >>

1/ "You understand me. You understand me very well. You — not be here. Go. Yalla, ta‘al. Take your things and leave. Listen to me and listen well, I’m talking here… You, translate me. OK? Good. >> 2/ You have exactly… now 32. By 35 I want all of you gone. Three minutes. Three minutes on the clock. You can’t be here. I don’t care what you say. Yalla, go”. >>

We’ve long planned to write about events along Route 5, between Za’atara (“Tapuach”) Junction and the violent settlement of Migdalim. The killing of 24 year old Moein Asfar from Aqraba by settlers from a nearby illegal outpost last Saturday makes it urgent. A thread. 1/ Let us begin with some historical and geographical context: Route 5, referred to by settlers as the “Trans-Samaria Highway”, was first paved by Israel in the early 1980s. >>

Avraham Zarbiv, famed for demolishing homes in Gaza, lives in an illegal house in Beit El with a 25-year-old demolition order. In 2025 Israel, destroying Gaza earns prestige, and you can even get a mortgage on an illegal house in the West Bank, as long as you’re Jewish. Thread. 1/ Avraham Zarbiv is the kind of public figure whose very fame reflects something profound about the miserable state of the society he comes from. >>

The army plans to expel 1,500-2,000 Palestinians from Fire Zone 918 in Masafer Yatta, claiming that they are not "permanent residents", while 11 settler's outposts remain untouched. In the West Bank, Fire Zones aren't for training - they're for ethnic cleansing. Thread. 1/ Last Tuesday (June 17, 2025), a document was circulated within the IDF Central Command headquarters and it deserves close attention. >>

As expected, As war with Iran rages, settlers escalate land grabs NE of Ramallah: new outposts, roadblocks, arson, uprooted trees all under army protection & gov’t policy. Land theft in broad daylight, as the state looks away. Thread. 1/ After settlers, with the help of the army, succeeded in expelling most of the Palestinian shepherd communities and clusters from the east and northeast of Ramallah >>

1/ Last Thursday (June 12, 2025), we published a piece on the Zman Israel news website, a short story that captures the spirit of our times and the reality of the place we live in. >> 2/ It turns out that Mr. Avichai Tan’ami, who was recently appointed by the 'Minister of Defense' Israel Katz as the 'coordinator for addressing the Hilltop Youth', himself resides in a house that was built in an illegal outpost and has a pending demolition order against it. >>

Ministers Smotrich and Strouk gave 21 Rangers to settlers in the South Hebron Hills. Now, “modern pioneers” use them to harass a Palestinian shepherd family—circling, filming, calling for backup. The gift is doing its job. Thread. 1/ In early April, Ministers Smotrich and Strouk of the far-right, fundamentalist racist Religious Zionism party handed out 21 4X4 Ranger vehicles to settlers in farm outposts across the South Hebron Hills. >>

1/ On Sunday morning (18.5.2025), the residents of the Bedouin shepherds community of Mughayyir Al-Dir received a "surprise" that has become all too familiar to Palestinian shepherd communities in Area C, and increasingly even in Area B, in recent years: >> 2/ settlers had established a new outpost nearby. What does a “new outpost” look like? A few shade nets, fences, a herd that were brought to the site, and most importantly a handful of young settlers guarded by armed militia members. >>

Just 4 days before the state was due to demolish illegal homes in the settlement of Eli, it revived the long-frozen land registry process — to retroactively legalize what it vowed to remove. Judicial overhaul? In the West Bank, there's nothing left to overhaul. Thread. 1/ The core of the judicial overhaul that is being pushed by Israel’s racist and corrupt government is the subjugation of the judiciary and its decisions. >>