Jericho (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israeli settler families moved this week into homes they say they bought legally near the city of Jericho in the central occupied West Bank, a local official said, while Palestinian officials say the sales documents are forged.
Published on: 05/11/2026 - 17:57
Hanan Greenwood, spokeswoman for the Regional Council that represents settlers in that area of the West Bank, told AFP that the families moved on Wednesday to eight homes located outside the municipal boundaries of Jericho, near the archaeological site known as the “Royal Hasmonean Winter Palaces,” which date back to the Hasmonean and Herodian eras.
She added, "We are here in Jericho in eight houses that the Nahala movement purchased with our help."
"Nahala" is a right-wing Israeli organization that funds the establishment of new settlements in the West Bank, and calls for the annexation of Palestinian lands to Israel.
Settler attacks led to the displacement of several Palestinian communities in that area over the past year, raising fears that the new settlement outpost may lead to more military presence and settlement violence on the doorstep of one of the main cities in the West Bank.
With the exception of East Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in addition to more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are illegal in the eyes of international law.
Greenwood added, "We came here yesterday afternoon (Wednesday), and we have been here for 24 hours, very excited."
For his part, the Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, Hussein Hamayel, told AFP that the land entered by the settlers is government property and may not be sold.
He pointed out that the targeted area included only three houses, questioning the number of houses announced by Israeli settlers, which was eight.
He added, "What is being promoted is fraud, not selling, and what is being circulated is settlement propaganda."
The land in question is located in Area C of the West Bank, which is under Israeli civil and military control, in accordance with the Oslo Accords between the Palestinians and Israel.
The head of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, considered in a statement that these settler practices “represent organized terrorism under the protection of the Israeli government, which is pushing the region and the world towards more conflicts and violence by encouraging colonization, confiscating land, and imposing displacement in blatant defiance of international law and signed agreements.”
The Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now said that about 30 settlers came to seize homes on Tuesday, and in the process "assaulted and robbed two Israeli activists, and shot a Palestinian man in the leg."
"Peace Now" warned that the presence of settlers close to Palestinian homes may lead to future displacement and friction, citing a precedent in the city of Hebron, where 400 settlers live in the Old City among 250,000 Palestinians.
The organization indicated that whether a sale takes place or not, the Israeli government can decide whether or not to allow the settlement to be established.
© 2026 AFP
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