DaysofPal – Israeli settlers have established a new pastoral settlement outpost near the Ma’azi Jaba’ Bedouin community, north of occupied Jerusalem, marking the latest expansion in a rapidly growing network of grazing outposts that continue to appropriate Palestinian land.
Pastoral settlement outposts have become a central tool in Israel’s settlement policy to alter the geographic landscape of the occupied territory. Settlers typically establish themselves on hilltops, elevated areas, and natural grazing land, gradually creating facts on the ground by herding livestock, taking control of water resources, and eventually connecting the sites to nearby settlements and infrastructure before transforming them into permanent settlement points.
Based on local data, occupied Jerusalem has some 23 pastoral settlement outposts, most of which are concentrated along the city’s eastern and northern belts. Meanwhile, more than 7,000 Palestinians live in 37 Bedouin communities that are facing mounting pressure threatening their geographical presence and social fabric.
Daily Attacks Under Israeli Military Protection
The expansion of these outposts has been accompanied by near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers against Bedouin communities. According to the report, these attacks include assaults on shepherds, livestock theft, destruction of wheat and barley crops, cutting water pipelines, preventing residents from accessing grazing lands, and restricting the daily movement of Palestinians in and around Jerusalem.
The report states that these attacks are carried out under the direct protection of Israeli forces, providing settlers with effective cover and enabling the assaults to continue and expand, while further worsening the hardships faced by local residents.
The first half of 2026 witnessed a marked increase in settler attacks across occupied Jerusalem, according to the report, as part of a systematic effort to empty Bedouin areas of their Palestinian inhabitants and reshape the demographic landscape in favor of the settlement enterprise.
Experts warn that newly established pastoral outposts, including the one near Ma’azi Jaba’, are not temporary encampments but the first stage in the creation of permanent settlements. They say such outposts are designed to absorb vast areas of Palestinian land around Jerusalem and could ultimately pave the way for the forced displacement of Bedouin communities living in the area.
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