Description

Photos: Published by Haaretz
Screencap of a video showing Israeli settlers grazing their sheep, accompanied by soldiers, Monday.

An illegal outpost built near the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir in the West Bank.

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A Palestinian who called the Israel Police to report the settlers was detained by the IDF and released later that evening. The soldiers' escort of settlers and their livestock in the grove violates military guidelines requiring troops to protect Palestinians and their property

by Matan Golan for Haaretz
Nov 12, 2025

Israeli soldiers on Tuesday escorted a group of Israeli settlers who entered an olive grove belonging to residents of the Palestinian community of Umm al-Kheir in the southern West Bank, where they attempted to graze their sheep.

At first, Palestinian locals waited in the grove and prevented settlers from entering, with one resident calling Israeli police, after the same settlers brought their flocks into the grove the day before under the protection of Israeli troops.

Two hours later, soldiers arrived to guard the settlers and detained the Palestinian man who had contacted the police.

In the afternoon, the settlers attempted to enter the grove once again, but were blocked by the Palestinian residents.

Later in the day, several activists present on the scene were also detained by Israeli troops, who summoned them for questioning. The detained Palestinian was released later in the evening.

On Monday, a soldier pointed his weapon at a Palestinian who approached the grove. When the resident told the soldier that the troops were on his private property, the soldier asked for documentation and said, "Take your papers to the police."

The IDF soldiers' escort of settlers and their grazing livestock in the grove contradicts military guidelines, which state that the troops are to protect Palestinians and their property.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, an Israeli settler from an outpost near Umm al-Kheir broke through the fence surrounding the Palestinian community's cemetery and lay on one of the graves. He was later seen walking near Palestinian residents' homes and harassing them.

On Monday, the same settler was filmed lying on a grave and confronting a Palestinian man who asked him to leave. The settler ignored a resident's request to respect the graves. "What you are doing is wrong," the man said. "You got a problem? Then call the police," the settler replied.

In the footage obtained by Haaretz from Monday's incident, the settler can be seen standing over a gravesite and pushing stones off a concrete platform. "Who's buried here? A large dog?" he said.

The settler was seen clearing an access route near the southern homes of the village on Monday, assisted by soldiers in the area. One of the soldiers was filmed making an obscene hand gesture when leaving the site, accompanied by the settlers.

In July, the same settler had received a restraining order barring him from the northern part of Umm al-Kheir after the Israeli left-wing NGO Peace Now petitioned the courts following his repeated harassment of the community. He has shifted his efforts to the southern part of the village in recent days.

A Palestinian resident of Umm al-Kheir told Haaretz that the settler who had lain on the graves has repeatedly harassed and assaulted members of the community. "He outdid himself by desecrating my family's graves today," the resident said on Tuesday. "He crossed every line."

Israel's Civil Administration issued a demolition notice last week for homes in Umm al-Kheir, reviving orders that were decades old, just as the army faced court scrutiny for failing to act against a nearby illegal Jewish settler outpost.

Residents were given two weeks to appeal the demolition notices. The notice was sent on Tuesday, on the same day that the Israeli army was required to explain to the Jerusalem District Court why it did not act to enforce court orders barring settlers from moving into an illegal outpost built near Umm al-Kheir and prohibiting any further construction on the site.

In July, Israeli settlers who entered Umm al-Kheir shot and killed village resident Awdah Hathaleen and wounded another resident with heavy machinery. The gunman, Yinon Levi, was later released from custody by a judge.
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