The United Nations has condemned the seizure of eight Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers in Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta, on the outskirts of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, saying settlers assaulted residents and forced dozens of people to flee their homes.
Source: AFP via Jamaica Inquirer
UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday, November 5, that the settlers reportedly used live ammunition during the takeover the previous day, physically assaulted Palestinian residents and threw stones, prompting families to flee for their safety. Some of those displaced now lack adequate shelter, he said, and the Israeli military has since declared the area a closed military zone, preventing humanitarian workers from reaching those affected.
About 30 settlers arrived on Wednesday afternoon, November 4, to take over the houses, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now. The group said the settlers assaulted and robbed two Israeli activists and shot a Palestinian man in the leg during the seizure. An activist told the Times of Israel that 65 Palestinian residents fled after settlers attacked them with stones.
Source: Drop Site News / Times of Israel
A purchase claim the Palestinians call forged
The settlers say the homes were legally bought. Settler representative Hanan Greenwood told the AFP news agency that Nachala, a right-wing Israeli settlement organisation, had bought the eight homes “with our help”, in coordination with the Binyamin Regional Council. Nachala founder Daniella Weiss led the move, and Yisrael Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, framed it openly as reversing the Oslo Accords “house by house, family by family”.
Palestinian officials reject that account. Hussein Hamayel, governor of the Jericho region, told AFP the land belongs to the Palestinian Authority and cannot be sold, and Palestinian officials say the sale documents were forged. Palestinian National Council head Rouhi Fattouh condemned the takeover as a seizure that would push the region towards more conflict. The homes stand in Area C, under full Israeli civil and military control since the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, just metres from Area A, where the Palestinian Authority is meant to exercise control.
The Israeli military itself said the entry was unauthorised. The IDF told the Jerusalem Post that the families entered the homes without prior coordination with the military and “without permission”, and that the acquisition process was now being clarified by the relevant authorities.
Source: The Jerusalem Post via JBizNews
Violence continued the next morning
On Thursday morning, the Palestinian Authority's WAFA news agency reported that settlers attacked Palestinians in the Bedouin communities west of Jericho, wounding three people after spraying them with pepper spray and beating them. The reports have not been independently verified beyond WAFA's account.
The Jericho takeover comes as settler attacks in the occupied West Bank approach all-time highs this year, according to AFP reporting, and several Palestinian communities in the greater Jericho area have already been driven from their homes. The Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta community, which lives beside the Hasmonean Palaces archaeological site, has faced repeated settler attacks through 2026, including the demolition of homes in July and August.
The IDF says the purchase is being clarified, but has not announced any evacuation of the new outpost. The UN says displaced families lack adequate shelter and humanitarian workers cannot reach them while the area stays a closed military zone. Whether the eight families stay in the homes is now a test of whether the unauthorised entry is reversed or becomes a permanent settlement inside Jericho's edge.
What is solid
- About 30 settlers took over eight homes in Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta near Jericho on Wednesday, November 4 (Peace Now, AFP, Jerusalem Post).
- The UN condemned the seizure on Thursday and said displaced families lack adequate shelter (UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric).
- The IDF said the entry into the homes was made without coordination or permission.
What is only claimed
- Settlers and the Nachala movement say the homes were legally purchased; Palestinian officials say the documents were forged and the land belongs to the Palestinian Authority.
- Peace Now's account of a Palestinian man shot in the leg and two Israeli activists robbed rests on the group's own reporting from the scene.