Jerusalem governorate warns of Israeli uprooting campaign targeting 33 Bedouin communities

OCCUPIED QUDS, Dec. 12 (YPA) – The Jerusalem Governorate on Thursday warned of the dangerous escalation carried out by Israeli occupation forces and settlers against the Bedouin communities scattered around the governorate, numbering 33, emphasizing that these systematic policies constitute a gradual campaign aimed at uprooting Palestinian presence in the eastern areas of Jerusalem.

In a statement, the governorate said that these policies are part of a broader colonial plan designed to suffocate daily life and exacerbate citizens’ suffering, noting that the ongoing actions have severe social and economic repercussions that threaten the stability of Bedouin families and expose them to the risk of forced displacement, in violation of international humanitarian law.

The statement highlighted that the Bedouin communities, stretching from Mikhmas in the north to Wadi al-Nar in the south, are facing escalating violations, starting with deprivation of infrastructure and basic services, and extending to land and property confiscation, daily assaults by settlers, including attacks on residents, cutting water lines, theft of livestock, and destruction of wheat and barley crops.

The governorate noted that the 33 Bedouin communities, home to more than 7,000 people, form an essential component of the Palestinian national identity and presence. Their strategic location falls within areas targeted by the “Greater Jerusalem” plan and the E1 scheme, through which the occupation seeks to separate Jerusalem from its eastern surroundings and disrupt geographic continuity between northern and southern West Bank.

@E.Y.M