Albaidar Association for the Defense of Bedouin Rights stated in its April 2025 report that Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank have experienced an unprecedented escalation in violations targeting civilians and their property. The organization affirmed that these abuses occur within a systematic policy aimed at forcibly displacing residents from their lands.
The report documented a total of 278 violations across multiple areas of the West Bank, primarily concentrated in the Nablus and Hebron governorates, in addition to other Bedouin regions facing similar pressures. Albaidar emphasized that these developments cannot be separated from a broader strategy by the occupation authorities to dismantle Bedouin society and deprive it of its most basic rights.
Violations in Nablus Governorate
Albaidar noted that Nablus Governorate was the most heavily affected, with 112 recorded violations, including:
- Confiscation of large areas of agricultural land on which residents depend for their livelihoods, without offering alternatives or compensation.
- Seizure of agricultural equipment and machinery, resulting in halted production and significant financial losses.
- Strict security restrictions preventing farmers from accessing their land, disrupting daily agricultural activities and reducing household income.
- Repeated physical assaults by settlers against farmers while working on their land, involving beatings, armed threats, and arbitrary arrests of young men during night raids.
- Arson attacks on agricultural facilities and mobile homes, as well as the killing and theft of livestock, leading to severe economic and living condition deterioration for Bedouin families.
Violations in Hebron Governorate
The report further indicated that Hebron Governorate recorded 94 violations, largely related to demolitions, land destruction, and physical assaults, including:
- Demolition of homes and agricultural structures under the pretext of lacking building permits—permits that are effectively impossible to obtain due to imposed restrictions.
- Forced displacement of several Bedouin families, resulting in loss of shelter and fragmentation of social networks.
- Destruction of essential infrastructure such as water networks, electricity systems, and roads, intensifying daily hardships.
- Organized settler attacks on shepherds and farmers, including releasing livestock onto privately owned farmland and destroying crops.
- Bulldozing of land, uprooting of fruit-bearing trees, and destruction of stone fences built to protect residents’ property.
- Repeated power outages coinciding with attacks, disrupting agricultural storage and causing further economic losses.
Racist and Organized Attacks
Albaidar highlighted that a significant portion of these violations exhibited a systematic racist character, including:
- Graffiti of racist slogans in Hebrew and Arabic on homes and agricultural buildings.
- The use of police dogs during settler incursions to intimidate residents.
- Deliberate arson targeting Bedouin farms and fields, destroying extensive areas of crops.
- Home invasions and theft of property, including money, farming tools, and personal belongings, as part of a strategy aimed at exhausting communities economically and psychologically.
Analysis and Conclusion
In the conclusion of its report, Albaidar stressed that the ongoing violations against Bedouin communities are not isolated or incidental incidents, but rather part of a deliberate colonial policy designed to alter the demographic structure of the West Bank by weakening Bedouin communities and emptying the land of its indigenous inhabitants.
The organization further stated that these actions constitute grave violations of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits forced displacement and mandates the protection of civilians under occupation.
Recommendations and Call for International Action
Albaidar called on:
- The international community to intervene immediately to halt these violations and provide effective protection for Bedouin communities.
- Human rights and humanitarian organizations to document these abuses and offer psychological and economic support to affected families to strengthen their resilience.
- Pressure on the occupation authorities to stop demolition, confiscation, and assault policies, and to allow Bedouin communities to exercise their rights to land and dignified living.
- Launching broad media and diplomatic campaigns to expose the scale of the crisis and highlight the suffering of Bedouin communities.
Summary
Albaidar concluded that the continued violations in April 2025 pose an existential threat to Bedouin communities—not only economically, but also socially and culturally. The organization emphasized that standing in solidarity with these communities is a humanitarian, legal, and moral obligation, urging the world not to remain silent in the face of escalating abuses that risk further deterioration.