From the muddy terrace that he is now forced to call home, 52-year-old Eid Zawahreh has an unbroken view of what drove his family from their land, threatening to erase a way of life that has endured for centuries.  

Two kilometres away, across an open hillside of rock and scrub, sit a handful of blocky, single-storey caravans and prefabricated cabins. Planted palm trees are dotted between the structures, along with a scattering of outbuildings and solar panels. As Eid watches, another caravan arrives on the back of a flat-bed truck, its lights flashing as it creeps along a hardpack road carved out of the rough terrain. An Israeli flag snaps in the early spring breeze, signalling that this is a settlement outpost. 

“It all started around 2018,” he says. “That is when the settlers came.”

For all their lives, Eid and his wife Rania, along with their ten children, had lived in the nearby Palestinian herding community of Ein ar-Rashash, 20 kilometres from Nablus in the northern West Bank. However, with the establishment of multiple settlement outposts in the area came a stream of violent attacks and harassment that inflicted terror on the community. During one incident, an 86-year-old man was injured after a group of settlers descended on the village and attacked residents with stones. And worse was to come. 

“We used to document a lot of settler attacks,” says Eid. “But the situation was still much better before the war [in Gaza] than it was now.” 

“We ran out of options to survive” 

On 7 October 2023, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza killed some 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals. In the wake of the attack, violent settlers in the West Bank intensified their campaign of violence against neighbouring Palestinian communities. 

On 9 October 2023, as attacks escalated, settlers blocked a key road to Ein ar-Rashash. 

“That was our only access to the main road,” explains Eid. “We realised that if we had an emergency situation and needed to take a sick person to the hospital at night, it would not be possible.” 

Soon afterwards, settlers cut the water pipes to Ein ar-Rashash and also intercepted and turned back a water truck seeking to access the community. 

“We got together and made the decision to leave. If the road was clear and we still had water to drink, we might have stayed, but we were besieged. We ran out of options to survive there,” says Eid. 

Within a week of the road being blocked, the entire community – 86 people, including 49 children – and their 1,500 sheep had moved to two nearby villages, Duma and Al-Mughayyir. It was a difficult and traumatic undertaking. 

“With the help of the men and young people of the community, we cleared a route between Duma and Ein ar-Rashash,” recalls Eid. “It is a very rough track, but using a tractor we could transport our children and some of our things to Duma. We could take only belongings that were easy to carry, such as blankets, kitchen supplies, some clothes. We left our shelters, bathrooms, food and fodder behind because we could not carry them.” 

“We came to Duma because it was the nearest area that we knew, and we knew its people. We said that we would stay here temporarily until we return to Ein ar-Rashash. We had to build everything from scratch here,” says Eid.  

“I lived in Ein ar-Rashash for 40 years,” explains Eid’s wife, Rania. “I have lost my hometown. All the community members used to live next to each other. We women would cook and eat together. My married children were living next to me, but not anymore. We have become homeless. We are now separated, and everyone lives in different places.”

“We are fractured into different areas,” adds Eid. “Some people living down here. And up there,” he gestures, “another couple of people. North of Duma there are others.” 

For children, the unrelenting threat of violence and the reality of displacement have had a profound impact. 

“My children’s studies have been badly interrupted,” explains Rania. “They still go to the same schools as before, but since the displacement and the change of lifestyle, they have stopped being able to focus, and are not able to go to school every day.” 

The community’s tightly woven social fabric has been destroyed, undermining a vital coping mechanism against the effects of extreme violence. For many, the hope of a peaceful life in their former villages is all that sustains them. 

“Every time I look at Ein ar-Rashash and the place where I grew up, I get very upset,” says Eid. “My mental health is not OK, but we keep on hoping – God willing – that we will return and that a safe solution will be provided for us.” 

Herders without herds 

Palestinian herder communities in the West Bank have long borne the brunt of harm from Israel’s deepening occupation. As the illegal settlement project expands, more territory is swallowed up and severe movement restrictions are imposed on Palestinians, often enforced by threats of settler violence. Herders are denied access to essential grazing lands, grievously undermining their ability to sustain their traditional livelihoods. 

According to research undertaken by the Palestinian Authority in 2019, of the 2,020,000 dunams (2,020 km²) of grazing lands throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, almost 70 per cent were closed to Palestinians due to settlements, military zones and the barrier separating Israeli and Palestinian populations in the West Bank. 

“Before the settlers came in 2018, we could graze up to 15 kilometres away from the community. Now, we can move maybe 20 metres away from our tents before we are at risk,” says Eid. 

With the loss of grazing lands, the cost of herd upkeep increases significantly. 

“Here there is no grazing. Even in Ein ar-Rashash, for 12 months of the year we could save on fodder due to the amount of grazing land available. But now we need to provide fodder to the livestock all year round. It’s really hard because the cost of fodder is so high.” 

Large herds have therefore become unsustainable, leading to a reduction in livestock numbers. 

“In 2018, before the violence, we had 400 sheep,” Eid says. “When we could graze without restrictions, we would sell only the male lambs and keep all the female lambs for breeding. But with the reduced grazing areas since the settlers came, we cannot save money and also have to sell some of the females for income. Now, I have only 250 sheep.” 

As the herds diminish, so, too, does the traditional herder way of life.

The rise and rise of settler violence

Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has long inflicted suffering on Palestinians. But the scale of this phenomenon exploded following the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza in October 2023. 

In 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded the highest number of settler-related incidents resulting in casualties or property damage since it began tracking such cases in 2006. 

Approximately 1,420 incidents were documented, including the killing of five Palestinians – one of them a child – and injuries to 360 others, including 35 children. More than 26,100 Palestinian-owned trees were vandalised. Attacks and intimidation targeting Palestinian Bedouin communities led to the displacement of over 300 families – 1,762 individuals in total, including 856 children. 

The proliferation of so-called “outposts” has led to a significant increase in settler violence. These outposts are settlements established without formal authorisation but often retroactively legalised by Israeli authorities. They function as staging grounds for attacks, forcing Palestinians from their lands and turning large areas of the West Bank into no-go zones for entire communities.  

“I think my turn is coming” 

Home to a population of roughly 2,000, the village of Duma provides a tragic case study on how acts of extreme violence can accompany the creation of settlement outposts. 

In 2015, Sa’ad and Riham Dawabsheh, along with their 18-month-old son, Ali, were killed in an arson attack committed by a resident of the nearby settlement outpost of Adei Ad. Ahmed, the couple’s four-year-old son, survived but was badly burned. In a rare instance of legal accountability for violent settlers, the main perpetrator of the attack was sentenced to three life terms plus 20 years by an Israeli court. According to Yesh Din, between 2005 and September 2023 just three per cent of Israeli investigations into settler attacks resulted in an indictment. 

In April 2024, following the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli child from a nearby outpost attributed by Israeli police to a Duma resident, settlers rampaged through the town. They left 15 homes and multiple cars damaged or destroyed by arson and six residents injured by live ammunition.  

“I’ve not yet faced physical attacks, but the settlers walk around and harass us,” says Eid. “My neighbour, 150 metres away, was displaced two months ago after they attacked him, so I think my turn is coming. They always walk past our spot and ask where we are from and tell us we are not allowed to stay here. At night, we have shifts to watch for settler attacks, just as we did in our original community.” 

“There is no safe place. Not only for us, but for all Palestinians in the whole of the West Bank. No-one is safe in his own house.”  

On 13 March 2025, Duma was again the target of a night-time arson attack, with residents narrowly escaping with their lives. Less than three weeks later, on 1 April, hundreds of settlers descended on Duma, setting fire to several buildings, a vehicle and a chicken coop. When Israeli forces arrived on the scene, they fired tear gas and shot at Duma residents. Three residents were taken to hospital after being shot with live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Settler violence and Israel’s annexation of West Bank territory 

As settler attacks have increased in volume and intensity, Israel is simultaneously entrenching its presence in the occupied West Bank. 

Settlement construction constitutes a serious violation of international law, yet is at unprecedented levels. Some 12,349 settlement housing units were approved in 2023, and 9,884 units in 2024. 

According to Peace Now, at least 59 new outposts were established in 2024, most of which are agricultural outposts involved in land grabs and the systematic expulsion of Palestinians. By comparison, from 1996 to the beginning of 2023, fewer than seven outposts were established per year on average. Meanwhile, according to settler groups, the settler population in the West Bank is projected to exceed one million by 2035. 

This surge in settlement construction stands in stark contrast to Israel’s accelerating destruction of Palestinian property. According to OCHA, Israel demolished 1,768 Palestinian structures in the West Bank in 2024 – the highest number recorded since monitoring began in 2009, and a 50 per cent increase compared to 2023. 

In February 2025, the makeshift shelters erected in Duma by Eid, Rania and others displaced from Ein ar-Rashash received demolition orders from Israeli authorities. 

“We coordinated with the landowners from Duma to stay here until there will be a solution,” explains Eid. “But it is Area C land, so we are still at risk of displacement.” Area C is the part of the West Bank that is fully controlled by Israel, and where Israel imposes a discriminatory planning system. 

Settler violence therefore feeds into a broader coercive environment in the West Bank. This environment has been created by a multitude of unlawful Israeli policies and practices which exert enormous pressure on Palestinians to leave their lands, homes, and communities. The resulting displacement constitutes forcible transfer, a grave breach of international humanitarian law, and prosecutable as a war crime. 

As Palestinians are driven from the land, settlements expand into the cleared areas. The result is the unrelenting and unlawful annexation of Palestinian territory. 

The role of humanitarian aid in preserving Palestinian dignity and presence 

The West Bank Protection Consortium (WBPC) was formed in 2015 to prevent the forcible transfer of Palestinians in the West Bank. It supports Palestinian communities with material and legal assistance that seek to counteract the impacts of coercive environments. The consortium is a strategic partnership of five international NGOs led by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and is supported by 11 EU donors, together with the United Kingdom, Canada and EU Humanitarian Aid.  

The WBPC has been a steadfast supporter of the Ein ar-Rashash community, both before and after their displacement. WBPC partners supported the community with essential infrastructure, which included mending the road to Ein ar-Rashash, laying water pipes, and repairing homes and animal shelters.   

When Israeli authorities issued demolition orders for homes and agricultural structures in the community, the WBPC provided legal support to challenge those orders, and managed to protect many of the structures from demolition. But the success of these legal efforts to prevent forcible transfer has diminished in places like Ein ar-Rashash, where settler violence and Israeli land appropriation, rather than demolitions, have been driving Palestinians from their homes.   

“The traditional legal protection mechanisms that we have relied on for years have become insufficient to safeguard communities from displacement. Israel’s allocation of land to settlers as well as escalating settler violence has led to unprecedented forced displacement in Area C,” says an employee of the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), which provides legal support to the Ein ar-Rashash community through the WBPC. 

New legal approaches 

For legal aid groups, the changing reality on the ground has required them to shift their tactics and develop new legal approaches to prevent forcible transfer and facilitate the return of communities who have been displaced.  

One example is Juret al-Khiel, a small community supported by the WBPC, north-east of Hebron. In 2024, repeated settler attacks and harassment forcibly displaced the community. As part of its work with the WBPC, NRC petitioned the Israeli High Court on behalf of the community to ask that the Israeli military fulfil its obligations under international law to protect Palestinians.  

In a groundbreaking provisional decision, the court demanded that Israeli authorities take actions to facilitate the community’s safe return. Following this decision, the Israeli military commander took an unprecedented action and issued a military order that barred Israelis from entering the community through December 2024. 

However, despite Israel’s Attorney General stating that there are no security concerns preventing the community’s return, community members continue to be denied access to their land by the Israeli military, settlement security forces, and settlers.   

Emergency assistance is being targeted 

Back in Ein ar-Rashash, Israeli settlers destroyed the remaining structures and solar panels after the residents were displaced. The settlers established new outposts and began grazing sheep on the community’s lands, making it even more difficult for the displaced residents to return home.  

After the displacement, the WBPC quickly provided emergency support to the community, including tents, hygiene facilities, animal shelters, water tanks and fodder. They also laid pipes to connect the displaced residents to the water network in Duma. 

“It helps for sure, the water and the aid in general. It provides some resilience to the community members,” says Eid. 

But even this emergency assistance has been targeted and remains at risk. Israeli authorities issued stop work or demolition orders for eight of the emergency structures provided by the WBPC. JLAC has continued to provide legal support to prevent the demolitions, but three of the structures have nevertheless been demolished.  

After enduring settler harassment, demolitions by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA), and severe movement restrictions, the people of Ein ar-Rashash remain without a secure place to rebuild their lives. Humanitarian support is essential to help them withstand ongoing shocks and sustain their survival amid a coercive environment. 

Continued intervention is needed to safeguard their survival and dignity. 

A new approach to settler violence is needed 

“We are farmers and herders,” says Eid, looking over to the outpost. “All we want is to go back to our community and enjoy the open space and herd our livestock freely, as we used to do.” 

For Eid and thousands of herders like him to be able to return to the villages from which they have been violently expelled requires a fundamental shift in the international community’s response to this issue – a response which, until now, has focused on condemnation and calls for calm.  

It is a response which has demonstrably failed. 

In 2024, a handful of states imposed sanctions against a limited number of individual settlers and settler organisations. Though an important step, it failed to slow the wave of violence, as Israel has taken no action to remove the sanctioned settlers from the outposts.  

The failure of these efforts can be attributed to the flawed treatment of settler violence as an isolated phenomenon rather than a state-supported component of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise. Israeli authorities have consistently failed to take meaningful action against violent settlers. Indeed, only three per cent of settler violence cases opened by the Israeli police have resulted in a conviction, according to Israeli human rights organisation, Yesh Din.  

Any effective international response to settler violence must go beyond targeting individual perpetrators. Instead, it must include urgent, concrete steps to challenge and reverse Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise as a whole and facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and lands. 

Until that happens, Eid and thousands of herders like him will continue to stand watch, protecting not just their families, but their way of life.