September 5, 2024: The head of the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, Minister Mu'ayyad Shaa’ban, stated that the forced displacement of the Bedouin communities carries serious implications due to the policy adopted by the occupying state. This policy includes imposing coercive environment, intimidation, threats, as well as depriving the communities of access to grazing areas, water sources, and essential services.
Mr. Shaa’ban added that the ongoing attacks of colonizers have led to the displacement of more than 28 Bedouin communities, including 311 families, from their places of residence to other places, the most recent of which was “Wadi al-Faw” community in the northern Jordan Valley.
Mr. Shaa’ban also explained that since the beginning of 2024, the colonizers have perpetrated about 1,760 attacks, which caused the martyrdom of 9 citizens in various areas of the Palestinian territories. He added that 32% of these attacks targeted the Bedouin communities located in the eastern slopes and the Palestinian Jordan Valley, with a direct intent to force these communities to leave. It is important to note that these attacks are considered a serious violation of the most basic rules of international law.
Mr. Shaa’ban also pointed out that the Settlement Council, which is “the brutal arm of the Civil Administration”, imposes heavy fines on citizens in the Jordan Valley in order to force them to leave. He noted that since the beginning of 2024, fines of up to NIS 430,000 have been imposed on citizens as a kind punishment for grazing sheep on their lands. He stressed that this measure is considered one of the Israeli government's official tools of terrorism against the most basic rights of Palestinian citizens.
Mr. Shaa’ban urged our Palestinian people everywhere not to tolerate the audacity and terror of the settlers' militias. He emphasized the need to address these attacks both through popular and legal means, whether by pursuing judicial prosecution before national bodies or international organizations. Mr. Shaa’ban also reiterated the call for all Palestinian national institutions, factions, unions, and labor forces to fulfill their national responsibility by taking practical and direct actions to support the Palestinian people, especially in the Palestinian Jordan Valley and Masafer Yatta. This includes participating in and activating the “night protection committees” and maintaining a continuous public presence. He warned that any delay in this national movement would advance the plans for displacement and allow the colonizers to establish control over the territory.