Settlers expand outpost east of Jerusalem
Settlers have begun expansion work at an agricultural outpost near the al-Muhtash Bedouin community east of occupied Jerusalem, erecting a new fence that restricts residents' movement and limits their access to their lands and grazing areas, in a step that threatens further pressure on the community's residents and the seizure of new areas of their land.
Settlers have recently begun expansion work at an agricultural outpost they established near the al-Muhtash Bedouin community, adjacent to the Khan al-Ahmar community east of occupied Jerusalem. Local sources reported that the settlers started erecting a new fence surrounding the community, restricting residents' movement and limiting their access to their lands and grazing areas, paving the way for expanding the outpost at the expense of the community's land. The expansion comes amid escalating attacks and pressures on Bedouin communities around Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, including land confiscation, establishment of outposts, demolition of homes and structures, and preventing residents from accessing water sources and pastures. The al-Muhtash community faces repeated measures threatening its survival, including cutting water lines. Residents view these practices as part of ongoing efforts to tighten the noose on Bedouin communities and push their residents to leave. Palestinian authorities warn that continued settlement expansion threatens Bedouin communities and their livelihoods, increasing risks of forced displacement and demographic and geographic change.