West Bank Palestinians forced out after five days of settler intimidation

Violent Israeli settlers, including two under UK sanctions, have forced about 150 Palestinians to leave their village in the occupied West Bank, through a five-day intimidation campaign carried out under the watch of the Israeli police and army.

- Quique Kierszenbaum Mughayyir al-Deir Emma Graham-Harrison Jerusalem

On Sunday morning, settlers established an illegal outpost, consisting of a basic shelter and a sheep pen, 100 meters from a Palestinian home in Mughayyir al-Deir, east of Ramallah. By yesterday, dozens of villagers had already moved their flocks away, packed up their belongings, and were dismantling their houses.

Settlers stalked between Palestinian men who worked fast and largely in silence, grappling with the grim reality of leaving the place where most were born and grew up. A child cried as he was driven away on a truck loaded with the family's red sofas.

"We are all leaving," said one villager, who asked not to be named. Settlers threw stones at some trucks as they left and celebrated on social media. Elisha Yered, an unofficial spokesperson for the extremist group Hilltop Youth, wrote: "This is what redemption looks like! This is a relatively large outpost that contained about 150 people from the enemy population, but it was broken."