Settlers build outpost on edge of West Bank Palestinian village, harass residents

The settlers and their newly-built outpost next to Mughayyir al-Deir, on 19 May 2025

Hagar Shezaf reports in Haaretz on 20 May 2025:

Israeli settlers established an outpost on Sunday on the outskirts of a Palestinian village near Ramallah in the West Bank, and authorities have yet to evacuate it despite stop-work orders and its unusual proximity to residents’ homes.

In a conversation on Monday between an Israeli left-wing activist and the IDF’s Binyamin Brigade operations room, the former was told that the settlers’ presence at the site was authorized.

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The outpost, set up on the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Mughayyir al-Deir, consists of a makeshift shelter and a sheep pen. Located less than 100 meters (about 320 feet) from a village home, it now stands between the resident and his livestock enclosure.

During a visit to the site on Monday morning, about ten young settlers were seen at the outpost, some of them possibly minors. Two were spotted walking through the village, with one entering the yard of the nearby home. Left-wing activists documented the incident and attempted to move the youth away. Also present was an older man whose vehicle was labeled as part of the farm’s security.

In response to a query from Haaretz, one of the settlers claimed their presence at the site had been approved by the World Zionist Organization’s Settlement Division. Overnight into Monday, a left-wing activist recorded another settler at the scene saying, “This is the last place left [in the area]. That’s it, thank God. We’ve kicked everyone out, including you. I’ll win, because I’m with the Torah and with the land.”

Ahmed Malihat, who lives in the house adjacent to the new outpost, said it was established around 7 A.M. on Sunday. “Within an hour, everything was in place, and now they’re just sitting there,” he said. “They’re harassing us to gradually dismantle the village so they can live here.”

Malihat, 57, a father of six sons and five daughters, said he has lived in the area for nearly 40 years. According to him, the community’s situation has deteriorated since the start of the war. He and other residents previously told Haaretz that the establishment of a nearby farm outpost had already barred them from grazing their flocks beyond the village’s boundaries, as they once did.

Ahmed Malihat in Mughayyir al-Deir, on Monday.Credit: Moti Milrod
“This new outpost will affect us from every direction,” Melihat added. “These aren’t ordinary neighbors as they’re trying to drive us out.”

Recently, a road was breached connecting the nearby farm outpost to the site of the new outpost, but the settlers are not satisfied with using it alone and also drive through the village itself.

According to Omar, a 14-year-old resident who regularly documents events there, settlers sometimes block the village entrance with their vehicles.

The IDF spokesperson’s Unit said in response that the area in question “does not encroach on land inhabited by the Bedouins.” It added that “the grazing land is on state-owned property. If a claim is submitted by the relevant authorities, it will be reviewed and addressed as necessary.”

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