Ras Ain al-Auja Village on the Verge of Erasure Due to Israeli Settler Violence

International Desk, PNN

Ras Ain al-Auja, a Bedouin village under the Jericho Governorate in the occupied eastern West Bank, has effectively become depopulated. Continuous violence, intimidation, destruction of livelihoods, and imposed control over basic services have forced hundreds of Palestinian families to abandon their centuries-old homes.

Since the beginning of this year, of the village’s approximately 650 residents, at least 450 have left the area. Locals allege that Israeli settlers have deliberately rendered the village uninhabitable through attacks, livestock theft, poisoning, seizure of water sources, and ongoing threats.

Local resident Naif Gawanmeh (45) said, “Once there was life here. Now there is nothing but emptiness. Everyone has left, no one can stay.” According to him, after two continuous years of mental pressure and insecurity, people have broken down.

According to local sources, Ras Ain al-Auja was one of the last Palestinian livestock-based villages in the Jordan Valley. The village’s nearby spring and vast grazing lands were the foundation of the community’s livelihood. However, over the past year, settlers have declared the spring a ‘restricted area’ and cut off access to water, leaving both people and livestock in severe distress.

The village’s livestock has also been severely affected. In a few years, where there used to be around 24,000 sheep, the number has dropped below 3,000. Many animals were stolen, some died due to poisoning, and owners were forced to sell the rest.

Meanwhile, the settlers’ establishment of so-called “grazing outposts” has made the situation even more dire. Armed individuals at these outposts reportedly restrict villagers’ movements and graze animals very close to homes.

Local human rights workers have described the violence as a form of forced displacement. While international law deems these settlements illegal, in reality, demolishing them is rare, and often security forces either remain silent or fail to provide protection.

Under pressure, many families burned their household items while leaving, to prevent settlers from using them. Those who remain include children and the elderly, living in daily fear.

One resident said, “We were born on this land, we grew up on this land. But now we have to leave just to survive.”

Requests for comment from the Israeli military went unanswered. Experts say the situation in Ras Ain al-Auja reflects the reality of many rural Palestinian communities in the West Bank, where continued violence and settlement policies gradually erase villages from the map.