Qais Abu Samra
20 May 2026•Update: 20 May 2026
Israeli occupiers began establishing an illegal settlement outpost in a village in the Masafer Yatta region of Hebron governorate in the southern occupied West Bank under the protection of the army, a Palestinian official said Wednesday.
Khalil Hathaleen, head of the Umm al-Khair village council, told Anadolu that occupiers had “started building a new settlement neighborhood in the middle of the village by installing caravans, erecting fences, and paving roads.”
Hathaleen explained that the new outpost cuts Umm al-Khair into two sections and blocks roads used by students and residents.
He said Umm al-Khair “has been subjected to a fierce and ongoing campaign by occupiers,” adding that construction of the settlement neighborhood has accelerated since midnight with the aim of “tightening pressure on residents and displacing them.”
“The goal is to expel the people, but we are staying here,” he said.
Activist Ahmad Hathaleen said occupiers began placing caravans in the middle of the Palestinian community overnight.
He added that the new outpost “seizes dozens or even hundreds of dunams of Umm al-Khair land,” despite residents obtaining a ruling from an Israeli court months ago declaring it illegal.
He said the establishment of the outpost divided Umm al-Khair into northern and southern sections “to impose further pressure on Palestinians in preparation for their displacement.”
He noted that residents of Umm al-Khair face near-daily attacks by occupiers, including demolitions, warning notices, and the cutting of water and electricity supplies.
Areas across Masafer Yatta have seen an escalation in occupier attacks and the establishment of illegal settlement outposts amid Palestinian warnings of efforts to displace Bedouin and farming communities.
The attacks come amid escalating occupier violence in the West Bank. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented about 1,637 occupier attacks in April.
The violence has coincided with a continued Israeli military escalation in the occupied territory since the Gaza war, including killings, arrests and raids on cities and towns involving home searches and property destruction.
*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul
