Forty-seven Palestinian families in the northern West Bank’s Jordan Valley face the threat of imminent displacement following the cutting of their remaining water supplies by Israeli forces and settlers, according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. The affected communities—Ras Al-Ahmar, Ath-Thalja, and East Atouf—are home to more than 300 Palestinians, approximately half of whom are children.
B'Tselem reported that over the past week, the final pipelines providing water to these villages were severed. Israeli authorities have also reportedly obstructed efforts to bring in water by other means, intensifying the scarcity for families heavily reliant on farming and livestock. The group warned that this disruption of essential water infrastructure could ultimately force these communities to leave their homes.
The water cutoff coincides with the ongoing construction of a 22-kilometer barrier, termed the "Crimson Thread" by Israeli officials, which extends from Ein Shibli to the Tayasir military checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley. Israel states the barrier aims to prevent weapons smuggling from Jordan. However, B'Tselem highlighted that since construction began in March, the project has damaged agricultural land, uprooted trees, destroyed crops and greenhouses, and cut off water and irrigation systems. These impacts risk isolating Palestinian-owned farmland and grazing areas.
In July, Israeli forces reportedly uprooted more than 300 olive and grape trees and damaged water pipelines that serve about 45,000 dunams of agricultural land in the Atouf and Al-Baqi'a regions. B'Tselem also documented rising attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages along the barrier’s planned route. These incidents include damage to water infrastructure, road blockages, limited access to grazing areas, and threats of expulsion against residents.
The developments come amid an accelerating pattern of displacement affecting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities across the occupied West Bank, with the Jordan Valley particularly hard-hit. United Nations data indicate that over 2,300 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank since the start of 2026 due to settler violence and related access restrictions, more than half of which occurred in the Jordan Valley.
Humanitarian agencies have noted worsening water shortages, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting in July that water trucking is increasingly necessary to support vulnerable herding communities. The shortages are exacerbated by repeated settler attacks, demolitions, and restricted access to water sources.
B'Tselem further stated that since October 2023, Israeli military operations and settler violence have forcibly displaced residents from 64 Palestinian communities in the West Bank, affecting over 4,300 people. One notable case is the Bedouin community of Ras Ein Al-Auja in the Jordan Valley, where persistent settler violence and pressure led to large-scale displacement earlier this year. According to OCHA, about 600 people were displaced from Ras Ein Al-Auja in January, marking the largest single-community displacement linked to settler attacks and access restrictions recorded by the UN since 2023.