Ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities and lone families in the West Bank (59 communities as of 16 Mar 2026)
Demolitions and confiscations in communities facing expulsion
Thousands of people – residents of dozens of Palestinian communities located throughout Area C, the West Bank – face imminent expulsion by Israeli authorities on a variety of pretexts. The live blog will pool the regular updates we get from B’Tselem field researchers regarding the communities and any attempts by authorities to expel them. Click on the number of a community cluster and then on the tent icon marked on the map for further information about communities facing the risk of expulsion.
The information in the blog reflects the latest state affairs known to us and is updated as we receive new data from the field. For more on the communities facing expulsion, click here.
The information in the blog reflects the latest state affairs known to us and is updated as we receive new data from the field. For more on the communities facing expulsion, click here.
8 Jul 2024
Demolition of a home in Qawawis. Photo: Nasser Nawaj’ah, B’Tselem, 8 July 2024
Civil Administration demolishes three homes, two of which were used seasonally, as well as agricultural structures, leaving two people homeless in the South Hebron Hills
On the morning of Monday, 8 July 2024, Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort and two excavators to the community of Qawawis in the South Hebron Hills. They demolished a house and a sheep pen, leaving a family of two homeless.
The forces then moved north to the community of She'b al-Batem, where they demolished homes used seasonally by two families, totaling 17 people, including nine minors, and two agricultural structures belonging to a third family.
3 Sep 2023
Israel confiscates tractor in the community of Qawawis, Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills
On Sunday, 3 September 2023, at around 1:00 P.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military escort at farmlands near Qawawis, in the South Hebron Hills, and confiscated a farmer’s tractor, claiming he had worked outside the area the Civil Administration allows him to cultivate. One of the soldiers drove the tractor to a military base in the area.
14 Aug 2022
Israel confiscates solar panels in Qawawis community, Masafer Yatta
On Sunday, 14 August 2022, at around midday, Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military escort at the community of Qawawis in Masafer Yatta and confiscated 13 solar panels that provided electricity to six families numbering 40 people. In addition, the forces confiscated the posts on which the panels were placed. The confiscation was carried out while members of the Comet-ME non-profit were performing maintenance on one of the solar panels.
Filmed by Nasser Nawaj'ah, B'Tselem
11 Mar 2021
Israeli military again blocks access road to community of She’b al-Batem, and destroys water line serving 40 families, South Hebron Hills
On Thursday, 11 March 2021, at around 8:30 A.M., soldiers came with a bulldozer to the Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills. The forces piled up boulders and sand piles to block access to a dirt road leading from Route 317 to the community of She’b al-Batem. They also destroyed a water supply line that served She’b al-Batem and the nearby community of Qawawis. The two communities are home to 40 families, who were left without a water supply.
The military has blocked the roads leading to She’b al-Batem several times, the last of which was in November 2020, but the residents removed the roadblocks. Blocking roads and destroying water supply lines is part of Israel’s routine harassment of Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills, and in Masafer Yatta in particular, in its bid to expel them from the area and their homes.
4 Sep 2018
Security forces in Qawawis, 3 September 2018. Photo: Nasser Nawaj'ah, B’Tselem
The Civil Administration demolishes a house and confiscates a tent in the village of Qawawis in Masafer Yatta
On 19 August 2018, Civil Administration personnel handed Yusef Abu ‘Aram, from Qawawis, a stop-work order for a home where his family of eight were set to live. Yesterday, 3 September 2018, at about 4:00 A.M., Civil Administration, military and Border Police personnel arrived with a bulldozer and demolished the home which was still under construction. At around 10:30 this morning, 4 September 2018, Civil Administration personnel arrived again and confiscated a tent given to the family by the village council for temporary shelter following the demolition. The Palestinian village of Qawawis is located in an area from which Israel has been trying to expel local residents ever since the 1990s.
Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.