Other residents pledged to stay put for the time being. That makes them some of the last Palestinians left in the area, said Sarit Michaeli, international director at B\u2019Tselem, an Israeli rights group helping the residents.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26011324463405-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tA Palestinian resident of Ras Ein al-Auja village, West Bank burns trash, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/p>\n
She said that mounting settler violence has already emptied neighboring Palestinian hamlets in the dusty corridor of land stretching from Ramallah in the West to Jericho, along the Jordanian border, in the east.<\/p>\n
The area is part of Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank that has remained under full Israeli control under the Oslo peace accords signed in the 1990s. Since the war in Gaza erupted with the Hamas-led terror invasion of October 7, 2023, over 2,000 Palestinians \u2014 at least 44 entire communities \u2014 have been expelled by settler violence in the area, B\u2019Tselem says.<\/p>\n
The turning point for the village came in December, when settlers put up an outpost about 50 meters from Palestinian homes on the northwestern flank of the village, said Michaeli and Sam Stein, an activist who has been living in the village for a month.<\/p>\n
Settlers strolled easily through the village at night. Sheep and laundry went missing. International activists had to begin escorting children to school to keep them safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe settlers attack us day and night, they have displaced us, they harass us in every way,\u201d said Eyad Isaac, another resident. \u201cThey intimidate the children and women.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26011324546742-1-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tPalestinian residents of Ras Ein al-Auja village in the West Bank pack up their belongings and prepare to leave their homes after deciding to flee mounting settler violence, January 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/p>\n
Michaeli said she\u2019s witnessed settlers walk around the village at night, going into homes to film women and children and tampering with the village\u2019s electricity.<\/p>\n
The residents said they call the police frequently to ask for help \u2014 but it seldom arrives.<\/p>\n
Settlement expansion has been promoted by successive Israeli governments over nearly six decades. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s far-right government, which has placed settler leaders in senior positions, has made it a top priority.<\/p>\n
That growth has been accompanied by a spike in settler violence, much of it carried out by residents of outposts that are illegal under Israeli law. These outposts often begin with small farms or shepherding that are used to seize land, say Palestinians and anti-settlement activists. United Nations officials warn the trend is changing the map of the West Bank, entrenching Israeli presence in the area.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26011324856944-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tPalestinian residents of Ras Ein al-Auja village, West Bank pack up their belongings and prepare to leave their homes after deciding to flee mounting settler violence, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)<\/p>\n
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six Day War. Some 500,000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank; the international community largely considers their presence illegal.\u00a0The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future state.<\/p>\n
For now, displaced families of the village have dispersed between other villages near the city of Jericho and near Hebron further south, said residents. Some sold their sheep and are trying to move into the cities.<\/p>\n
Others are just dismantling their structures without knowing where to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere will we go? There\u2019s nowhere. We\u2019re scattered,\u201d said Zayed, the resident, \u201cPeople\u2019s situation is bad. Very bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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