‘Where Would We Go?’: A Palestinian Family Clings to Home Amid Settler Attacks

HEBRON, West Bank / PNN / For residents of Khirbet Umm al-Khair in the southern Hebron Hills, fear has become part of daily life.

Repeated attacks by Israeli settlers, along with efforts to pressure residents and drive them from their land, have increasingly reached the edges of their homes, residents say. What once centered on property and sheep pens now comes close to where families sleep, deepening anxiety, particularly among children.

Ahmed Al-Hathaleen, a resident of Khirbet Umm al-Khair, said the Salem family has faced repeated attacks by settlers that he believes are intended to pressure them into leaving their home and land.

In one instance, he said, a settler went as far as trying to claim part of the family's home, acting as though the property belonged to him and proposing that the house be divided between them — one room for the family, another for him — along with the family's sheep pen.

A new settlement outpost was established about a year ago in the heart of Umm al-Khair, very close to the Salem family's home, Al-Hathaleen said. Since then, he said, attacks and harassment against the family have intensified.

The incidents do not happen only during the day, he said. Some occur late at night, sometimes involving large groups of settlers. In one case, he said, about 30 settlers attacked the family.

For Bedouin families in Umm al-Khair, daily life is already difficult. With limited resources, residents who build new rooms often rely on simple outdoor facilities. But even those basic structures, Al-Hathaleen said, have become targets of attacks and attempts at control.

He said the family's sheep pen was declared a closed military zone after settlers demolished part of it, adding another burden to residents whose livelihoods depend heavily on their livestock.

But it is the nighttime incidents that have left families most frightened.

Al-Hathaleen said settlers sometimes approach homes late at night and bang on their roofs, leaving children and other family members terrified.

He described one incident in which, according to his account, about 10 settlers approached the family's home around midnight and lit a fire roughly 1.5 meters from the windows. They remained nearby for some time, making noise and harassing the family as its members stayed inside the house.

The family contacted Israeli police, Al-Hathaleen said, but no action was taken against the settlers, despite what he described as the area's designation as a closed military zone.

The harassment, he said, includes attacks, insults and repeated presence near the homes.

He believes the ultimate goal is to force the family to leave and clear the way for the expansion of the settlement outpost.

Al-Hathaleen said the newly established outpost has become the main source of attacks against the family. He said it was established, according to his account, after the killing of his cousin, Owdahan.

Yet despite the pressure, the Salem family has no intention of leaving Umm al-Khair, Al-Hathaleen said.

"They have not thought about leaving the area or giving up their home and land," he said.

Residents of the village, he added, remain determined to stay despite the difficult conditions and continuing attacks.

Families in Umm al-Khair, he said, have paid a heavy price to remain on their land, including sacrifices and the loss of loved ones.

"They are steadfast, staying on their land and holding their ground until their last breath," Al-Hathaleen said.

His account comes amid recent reports of escalating settler attacks in and around Umm al-Khair, including assaults targeting residents' homes and attempts to take control of parts of their property.

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