On Monday, 26 May 2025, a group of settlers established a new outpost near the remaining homes in the community of Khilet a-Dabe’ in Masafer Yatta after the Israeli authorities demolished most of the village's houses in early May. Since the demolition, most of the village residents have been living in ancient caves that they previously used as dwellings.
The settlers invaded ‘Abdallah Dababseh’s cave, attacked him, drove him out, and took over the cave. They set up tents near it and installed themselves there.
Residents called the police, but when police and soldiers arrived, they not only failed to arrest the assailants, but instead arrested ‘Abdallah Dababseh, claiming the settlers were permitted to be in the area and Dababseh did not have a title deed for his home. Dababseh was released that evening after posting bail of 2,000 shekels (~570 USD), with restraining order banning him from the community for two weeks.
Since the outpost was established, the settlers have relentlessly harassed the village residents, grazing sheep, cattle, and camels in their fields, gardens, and courtyards, and destroying all the crops and trees. They also cut power cables leading to caves and the remaining homes and dismantled solar panels. The settlers vandalized furniture inside the caves and installed themselves in the doorways and courtyards of the remaining homes, harassing the families and frightening the women and children.
On 29 May, a police officer responding to a separate incident stated that from that day on, anyone who complained of trespassing in the area would be detained for questioning.
On 30 May 2025, settlers pushed a pregnant woman, Fatimah Dababseh, who had to be evacuated to a hospital in an ambulance. Soldiers and police who arrived arrested an Israeli activist and three international activists.
On 31 May 2025, around 6:00 A.M., soldiers and police officers arrived and arrested two International Solidarity Movement activists and Israeli activists who were at the community.
On 1 June 2025, the military declared the area a “closed military zone,” expelled all the activists who were present to protect the residents, and dismantled the outpost. However, since then, the military has allowed settlers to invade the village with their flocks on a daily basis, disrupt the residents’ lives, and expel any protective presence activist found in the area.
Background
Khilet a-Dabe’ is one of the Palestinian communities in the Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills. In the early 1980s, Israel declared this area a “closed military zone,” aiming to take over the land and expel its residents. Since then, the state has banned development in these communities, many of which existed long before Israel occupied the West Bank. It has denied them access to water and electricity infrastructure, repeatedly demolished their homes and any basic infrastructure they tried to build, and even destroyed their access roads. In recent years, the residents have also faced repeated settler attacks. These are assisted by the military, which allows settlers to set up outposts inside the “firing zone,” right next to the Palestinian communities, in an effort to make life unbearable for their residents and force them to leave.