Israel plans to demolish West Bank village after residents challenge settler outpost
Palestinian children in Umm al-Kheir, 30 October 2025
Matan Golan reports in Haaretz on 1 November 2025:
Israel’s Civil Administration issued a demolition notice this week for homes in a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, 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 of the long-established village of Umm al-Kheir have two weeks to appeal the demolition notices. The notice was sent on Tuesday, on the same day that the Israeli army was summoned 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.
The attorneys who are representing the Umm al-Kheir community said that “reviving the old demolition orders is a clear act of retaliation by the authorities in response to the ‘audacity’ of Palestinians who dared to demand the rule of law be applied to settlers. The Civil Administration’s message is clear: this is what happens to anyone who dares ask us to stop illegal settler construction.”
In its response to the court this week, the Israel Defense Forces said it did not enforce the order because responsibility lies with the Hebron Hills Regional Council’s planning committee.
The outpost caravans set up near Umm al-Kheir, September 2025
The army added that by the time it inspected the site, the caravans were already occupied, and since the order only froze further construction and did not call for evacuation, it had no authority to remove them. Still, the order bans any construction work there, which the army admitted is ongoing.
At the same time, the army told the court that the area the petitioners call the village of Umm al-Kheir contains “dozens of illegal structures.” NGO Peace Now said 11 of the 13 structures slated for demolition are homes.
The court issued the order banning occupancy of the outpost and any construction work there “until further notice” more than two weeks ago, following a petition filed by Peace Now.
However, the group, represented by attorneys Michael Sfard, Anat Halpern and Snir Klein, said that already the next day, settlers violated the order by placing caravans on agricultural land near Umm al-Kheir. During and after this violation, the authorities shifted responsibility for enforcing the order from one body to another.
In August, settlers placed caravans near homes in Umm al-Kheir, about a month after resident Awdah Hathaleen was shot dead by Yinon Levi. The new outpost was established on a strip of land within the boundaries of the Carmel settlement but outside its perimeter fence, and is not contiguous with its built-up area.
The land has been designated by the state as agricultural, and under Israeli law in force since the legalization of the Carmel settlement, residential infrastructure cannot be built on agricultural land.
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