Amnesty International Warns of Imminent Forced Displacement in Masafer Yatta

Amnesty International has warned that the She’ab al-Butum community in Masafer Yatta is facing an imminent risk of forced displacement due to escalating attacks by settlers backed by the Zionist occupation. In a statement on Thursday, the organization highlighted the increasing demolitions of homes, harassment, land access restrictions, and illegal settlement expansion imposed by zionist forces.

The statement emphasized that the pastoral community, home to around 300 residents, is one of 12 villages in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, that have suffered for decades from state-backed settler violence and repressive measures by Zionist forces. Amnesty International condemned these actions as part of a broader campaign targeting Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.

“The plight of the Al-Butum community is a microcosm of what Palestinians, particularly herding and Bedouin communities, face across much of the occupied West Bank, where settlers invade their land, destroy and steal their property, and harass and physically assault them, with complete impunity,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Research, Advocacy, and Policy Director.