Reuters
The land available to Atallah al-Jahalin’s Bedouin community for grazing livestock near Jerusalem has steadily shrunk, as expanding Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied territory encircle the city and push deeper into the West Bank.
Now, the group of some 80 families faces eviction from the last patches of valley and scrubland they have called home for decades.
Their predicament is tied to an Israeli settlement project that would slice through the West Bank, sever its connection to East Jerusalem, and -- according to Israeli officials -- "bury" any remaining hope of a future Palestinian state.
As more Western powers move to recognise a Palestinian state amid frustration over the war in Gaza, Palestinians around Jerusalem say they are watching their land vanish under the advance of Israeli cranes and bulldozers. Settlements now form an almost unbroken ring around the city.
“Where else could I go? There is nothing,” said Jahalin, seated beneath a towering cedar tree near Maale Adumim, a settlement that has already grown into a Jewish suburb of Jerusalem on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.
The so-called E1 project, recently greenlit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, will fill the last major gap in the settlement belt -- an area that, until now, had remained untouched by construction.
"This actually cuts the possibility of a viable Palestinian state," said Hagit Ofran, of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group. "The territorial continuity from North to South is going to be totally cut."
Israel previously froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012 and again in 2020, following objections from the U.S., European allies and other powers who viewed the project as a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
But in August, Netanyahu and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would begin. Smotrich declared the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
"Whoever in the world is trying to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground," Smotrich said. "Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighbourhoods."
The move was condemned by Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union and Japan as a breach of international law.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah condemned the announcement, calling it a violation of international law.
The offices of Netanyahu and Smotrich did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reflecting growing criticism of the Gaza war -- which has devastated much of the enclave on Israel’s southern border -- Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, joining about 140 other countries that have already done so.
But the timing highlights a stark contrast between diplomatic gestures and the reality on the ground, where Israeli settlements continue to expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank.
Most world powers consider all the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel says it has historical and biblical ties to the area that it calls Judea and Samaria.
A U.N. report says Israel has significantly expanded settlements in the West Bank in breach of international law.
Today, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 3.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Last month, Jahalin's community was served demolition orders for their homes and told they had 60 days to tear them down themselves. Israeli security forces accompanied by dogs have repeatedly raided their homes at night, acts the community views as intimidation.
"When a child wakes up and sees a dog in his face, he gets frightened, it's a disaster," said Mohammed al-Jahalin, Atallah's brother.
Mohammed al-Jahalin said they used to challenge the demolition notices in court, but since the Gaza war, "if you reach out to the court it will give you an immediate evacuation order."
Part of the E1 project includes the so-called "Fabric of Life Road," which would create separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians, cutting off Palestinian access to large swathes of the West Bank. The road would also sever a vital link between Bedouin communities -- like the 22 families living in Jabal Al-Baba -- and the nearby Palestinian village of al-Eizariya.
Now, the group of some 80 families faces eviction from the last patches of valley and scrubland they have called home for decades.
Their predicament is tied to an Israeli settlement project that would slice through the West Bank, sever its connection to East Jerusalem, and -- according to Israeli officials -- "bury" any remaining hope of a future Palestinian state.
As more Western powers move to recognise a Palestinian state amid frustration over the war in Gaza, Palestinians around Jerusalem say they are watching their land vanish under the advance of Israeli cranes and bulldozers. Settlements now form an almost unbroken ring around the city.
“Where else could I go? There is nothing,” said Jahalin, seated beneath a towering cedar tree near Maale Adumim, a settlement that has already grown into a Jewish suburb of Jerusalem on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.
The so-called E1 project, recently greenlit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, will fill the last major gap in the settlement belt -- an area that, until now, had remained untouched by construction.
"This actually cuts the possibility of a viable Palestinian state," said Hagit Ofran, of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group. "The territorial continuity from North to South is going to be totally cut."
Israel previously froze construction plans at Maale Adumim in 2012 and again in 2020, following objections from the U.S., European allies and other powers who viewed the project as a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
But in August, Netanyahu and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would begin. Smotrich declared the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
"Whoever in the world is trying to recognise a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground," Smotrich said. "Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighbourhoods."
The move was condemned by Australia, Britain, Canada, the European Union and Japan as a breach of international law.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah condemned the announcement, calling it a violation of international law.
The offices of Netanyahu and Smotrich did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reflecting growing criticism of the Gaza war -- which has devastated much of the enclave on Israel’s southern border -- Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday, joining about 140 other countries that have already done so.
But the timing highlights a stark contrast between diplomatic gestures and the reality on the ground, where Israeli settlements continue to expand rapidly across the occupied West Bank.
Most world powers consider all the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel says it has historical and biblical ties to the area that it calls Judea and Samaria.
A U.N. report says Israel has significantly expanded settlements in the West Bank in breach of international law.
Today, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 3.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Last month, Jahalin's community was served demolition orders for their homes and told they had 60 days to tear them down themselves. Israeli security forces accompanied by dogs have repeatedly raided their homes at night, acts the community views as intimidation.
"When a child wakes up and sees a dog in his face, he gets frightened, it's a disaster," said Mohammed al-Jahalin, Atallah's brother.
Mohammed al-Jahalin said they used to challenge the demolition notices in court, but since the Gaza war, "if you reach out to the court it will give you an immediate evacuation order."
Part of the E1 project includes the so-called "Fabric of Life Road," which would create separate roads for Israelis and Palestinians, cutting off Palestinian access to large swathes of the West Bank. The road would also sever a vital link between Bedouin communities -- like the 22 families living in Jabal Al-Baba -- and the nearby Palestinian village of al-Eizariya.
