Ma'in, Masafer Yatta - Many settlers attacked the village, hit the residents and their homes and opened fire with live ammunition
I will begin by emphasizing that today is Saturday, the Sabbath.
Working is forbidden, driving is forbidden, but violating these prohibitions is permitted when it comes to abusing and robbing Palestinians.
At the entrance to the dirt road leading to Qawawis, there is a cardboard sign inviting visitors to enter the Eretz Yehuda Farm and pamper the shepherds.
The name Yehuda (Judah) is a favorite among the thieving settlers. There is Havat Yehuda (Yehuda Farm) belonging to Eliyashiv Nahum, Mikneh Yehuda Farm belonging to Israel Kaplan, and now Eretz Yehuda (Land of Judah).
Jewish supremacy at its finest.
At 5 a.m., the residents of Qawawis were praying outside their homes when they saw soldiers, police officers and settlers in several communities in the surrounding area: Qawawis, near Taleb’s house; Khaldiya (near the concrete factory); Palestinian Ma’in; and Carmil.
Through WhatsApp groups, they learned that approximately 200 sheep had been stolen from Khaldiya and Ma’in (located near Carmil, opposite Qawawis).
At around 6 a.m., they saw a flock of stolen sheep being driven towards Susiya.
About 20 sheep were brought to the farm-outpost belonging to Yehoyariv Shabo, near Qawawis, called Eretz Yehuda.
From 5 a.m. until now, the time of our visit, soldiers, police officers and settlers have been present nearby and in the other villages from which sheep were stolen. Security camera footage published on websites and social media clearly shows cooperation between the army and the settler thieves. Gunshots can also be heard.
The website Zo Haderekh reported:
“Three residents were injured this morning (Saturday), one by live ammunition and two by pepper spray, during a settler attack on the village of Ma’in in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Activist Osama Makhamra reported that large numbers of settlers attacked the village, assaulted residents, damaged their homes and opened fire with live ammunition. One resident was shot in the thigh, two were injured by pepper spray, and additional residents suffered bruises. During the attack, the settlers also stole 380 sheep belonging to the residents.”
At 1:00 p.m., I spoke with Yifat, a Ta’ayush activist and one of four activists who were present during our visit. She told me that five sheep stolen from a Palestinian resident that morning had been returned to him.
“This is the familiar trick of conducting searches,” an activist who was present in the area told The Hottest Place in Hell. According to him, the settlers first contacted the police, claiming that lambs had been stolen from them, while at the same time at least 15 settler vehicles arrived in the area.
“The settlers attacked residents, broke down the doors of sheep pens and took out flocks belonging to at least three families.”
He claimed that a large proportion of the sheep were driven towards the settlement of Susiya, while others were taken to the Eretz Yehuda outpost, which he said was located 150 meters from the Palestinian residents’ homes.
October 18, 2026, the following day:
In a telephone inquiry I made with Nasser Nawaj’ah, B’Tselem’s representative in the South Hebron Hills, I learned that the remaining sheep had still not been returned. It had emerged that they were being held in the settlement of Susiya, by a settler named Amishav.
Attorney Qamar Mishraki has filed a petition concerning the matter.
Machsom Watch activists reporting from the field have described sheep thefts over many years.
What little livelihood remains, along with a source of milk and dairy products, is now being stolen as well.
#ThisIsTheOccupation
Instagram description of the event:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Del3SD6tUd2/?xtok=MWV3d3UxbnNzNm9ibw==
Location Description
Mesafer Yatta
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This is happening in Fire Area 918 in the South Hebron Hills
On the eve of Remembrance Day (the day before Israel Independence Day), 4th May, 2022, the Israeli High Court decided on the transfer and expulsion of residents from 8 Palestinian communities in the area of Masafar Yata in the South Hebron Hills. Residents of the villages have been living under the threat of demolition, evacuation and expropriation since the IDF issued evacuation orders in 1999 based on the 1980s proclamation of their area of residence as a firing zone for IDF drills. None of the nearby settlements were included in this zone. The Masafer Yata Palestinian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posess a clear historical documentation that testifies to a Palestinian settlement in this area, generations before the establishment of Israel, long ago in the caves and at later times outside them.
Evacuating residents from the area means destroying these historic villages and leaving entire families (about 2,000 people, children, adults, and the elderly) homeless. This is contrary to international law.
In June 2022, a firing drill started, and life became harder.
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South Hebron Hills
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South Hebron Hills
South Hebron Hills is a large area in the West Bank's southern part.
Yatta is a major city in this area: right in the border zone between the fertile region of Hebron and its surroundings and the desert of the Hebron Hills. Yatta has about 64,000 inhabitants.
The surrounding villages are called Masafer Yatta (Yatta's daughter villages). Their inhabitants subsist on livestock and agriculture. Agriculture is possible only in small plots, especially near streams. Most of the area consists of rocky terraces.Since the beginning of the 1980s, many settlements have been established on the agricultural land cultivated by the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills region: Carmel, Maon, Susia, Masadot Yehuda, Othniel, and more. Since the settlements were established and Palestinians cultivation areas have been reduced; the residents of the South Hebron Hills have been suffering from harassment by the settlers. Attempts to evict and demolish houses have continued, along with withholding water and electricity. The military and police usually refrain from intervening in violent incidents between settlers and Palestinians do not enforce the law when it comes to the investigation of extensive violent Jewish settlers. The harassment in the South Hebron Hills includes attacking and attempting to burn residential tents, harassing dogs, harming herds, and preventing access to pastures.
There are several checkpoints in the South Hebron Hills, on Routes 317 and 60. In most of them, no military presence is apparent, but rather an array of pillboxes monitor the villages. Roadblocks are frequently set up according to the settlers and the army's needs. These are located at the Zif Junction, the Dura-al Fawwar crossing, and the Sheep Junction at the southern entrance to Hebron.
Updated April 2022
Muhammad D.Oct-29-2026Michal in Shaab Al-Butum with Ishaq Jabarin
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