Israel’s bombing of Gaza on October 7, 2023, triggered fear in Fayez Atil, a resident of the occupied West Bank, that his community would also be targeted.
Atil hails from Zanuta, a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley known for its herding traditions.
For years, illegal Israeli settlers had harassed and attacked the village, but the situation worsened significantly after Israel’s aggressive actions in Gaza.
Feeling the impact of the escalating violence, Atil described the situation as feeling like a war, with settlers attempting to steal sheep and damage property on a daily basis.
Due to the persistent attacks and harassment by settlers, the 250 residents of Zanuta gradually abandoned their village and way of life.
Following an incident in October 2024 where Israeli settlers assaulted a 77-year-old Palestinian shepherd, Atil decided to leave with his family.
He recounted, “They beat the old man, his wife, and children. It was a level of aggression we had never witnessed before from settlers.”
Easy targets
According to Al-Haq, a Palestinian nonprofit, the residents of Zanuta are among 46 Bedouin communities in the West Bank that have been forcibly expelled from their land by state-backed Israeli settlers since the start of Israel’s bombing campaign on October 7, 2023.
Shai Parnes, a spokesperson for Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, emphasized that the violence against Bedouin communities is not just the actions of radical settlers but also state violence.
As Israel mobilized reservists to fight in Gaza during the conflict, extremist settlers were deployed in the West Bank, armed with weapons, ammunition, and military uniforms.
This transition granted settlers legal authority to harm and detain Palestinians, leading to expulsions in Area C of the West Bank, an area under full Israeli military control.
The situation in Area C has worsened due to the collaboration between Israeli soldiers and settlers to displace vulnerable Palestinian communities from their lands.
Israeli human rights groups and activists have labeled this system as racist and discriminatory.
‘A racist system’
Even Palestinian Bedouins who are citizens of Israel are facing land confiscation and eviction from their homes, highlighting the systematic discrimination against Bedouins in Israel.
About 120,000 Palestinians reside in “unrecognized villages” in the Naqab Desert, descendants of those who survived the Nakba in 1948.
Despite the government’s push for relocation to urban areas, Bedouins argue that such a move would sever their ties to the land and threaten their pastoral way of life.
Israeli authorities have long rejected the existence of Bedouin settlements, claiming they are nomadic and do not have a permanent presence on the land.
Bedouin leader Khalil Alamour refuted this claim, stating that Bedouins have been settled for centuries and maintain a deep connection to their land.
The ongoing violence and evictions against Bedouins are seen as part of a larger racist policy against Palestinians, encompassing all Bedouin communities as part of the Palestinian population.
Legal whitewashing
Many herder communities in the West Bank have faced repeated displacements since the Nakba, with some villages being uprooted multiple times.
Abu Bashar, a mokhtar of Wadi al-Seeq, recounted how his community has been forced to relocate four times since the establishment of Israel.
After the October 7 events, Israeli settlers invaded the community, prompting around 187 individuals, comprising 45 to 50 families, to flee on foot to seek refuge in Ramon village.
The settlers’ actions left a trail of fear and displacement among the Palestinian herder communities in the region.
Mereka mengepung desa kami dan mereka datang dengan tentara, yang melindungi mereka, dan mengusir kami dari desa kami,” Abu Bashar mengatakan kepada Al Jazeera.
“Kami sekarang tinggal di tenda dan di bawah pohon dalam keadaan mengerikan di Ramon,” katanya.
Dalam dua tahun terakhir, penduduk desa Wadi al-Seeq dan Zanuta telah mengajukan gugatan ke Mahkamah Agung Israel.
Kritikus mengatakan melalui pengadilan Israel – yang tidak memiliki yurisdiksi atas tanah yang diduduki, menurut hukum internasional – secara efektif melegitimasi pendudukan Israel.
Menurut kelompok-kelompok hak asasi manusia, Mahkamah Agung Israel telah memainkan peran kunci dalam melegitimasi kebijakan yang melanggar hak-hak Palestina, seperti memberikan izin untuk penghancuran rumah-rumah Palestina dan desa-desa seluruhnya.
“Mahkamah Agung adalah mekanisme lain yang digunakan untuk memutihkan pendudukan Israel,” kata Parnes, dari B’Tselem.
Tidak ada jalan lain
Meskipun peran historis Mahkamah Agung, beberapa komunitas Badui Palestina telah mengajukan kasus dengan itu.
Qamar Mashraki, seorang pengacara Palestina yang mewakili Zanuta, serta komunitas Badui lainnya yang diusir dari tanah mereka sejak 7 Oktober, telah memenangkan dua kasus sejauh ini.
Pada Januari 2024, penduduk Zanuta dan Umm Dharit diberitahu bahwa mereka memiliki hak hukum untuk kembali ke tanah mereka.
“Kita harus memanfaatkan setiap alat yang kita miliki [sebagai Palestina],” kata Mashraki kepada Al Jazeera.
Tetapi pemukim Israel menyerang keluarga-keluarga dari Zanuta ketika mereka mencoba untuk kembali, mencegah komunitas tersebut membangun kembali rumah mereka dan menggembalakan hewan mereka, mendorong banyak orang untuk melarikan diri lagi pada September 2024.
Dengan bantuan Mashraki, penduduk Zanuta mengajukan mosi pengadilan kedua yang menuntut bahwa otoritas Israel melindungi komunitas dari para pemukim Israel.
Bulan lalu, pengadilan mengeluarkan keputusan bahwa tentara dan polisi harus melindungi orang-orang Zanuta, kata Atil. Dia menambahkan bahwa keluarga-keluarga merasa relatif aman untuk mencoba kembali ke Zanuta lagi.
Puluhan komunitas Badui lain yang telah diusir dari tanah mereka tidak merasa beruntung.
Banyak yang takut bahwa mereka akan kehilangan tanah dan cara hidup mereka, bahkan jika mereka memulai pertempuran hukum.
Abu Bashar, dari Wadi al-Seeq, mengatakan komunitasnya masih menunggu keputusan Mahkamah Agung apakah mereka dapat kembali ke tanah mereka.
Walaupun dia dapat kembali secara hukum, dia khawatir pemukim akan menyerang komunitasnya lagi.
“Para pemukim mengambil segalanya dari kami: rumah kami, traktor kami, pasokan air kami, bahkan makanan kami,” katanya kepada Al Jazeera.
“Kami dikepung.”