Khirbet Simra (Jordan Valley)
Khirbet Simra
خربة سمرة | |
|---|---|
Bedouin herding community | |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Tubas |
| Area | Area C |
Khirbet Simra (Arabic: خربة سمرة) is a small Palestinian Bedouin herding community located in the northern Jordan Valley in the northeastern West Bank, within Area C of the Israeli-occupied territories.[1][2] The hamlet lies in Tubas Governorate and is inhabited primarily by pastoral families who rely on sheep and goat herding as their main livelihood.
Location and population
Khirbet Simra lies in the northern Jordan Valley east of the Allon Road, an Israeli-built highway running north–south along the eastern flank of the West Bank.[1] The locality consists mainly of tents and other temporary structures typical of pastoral Bedouin communities in the region.[1]
Like several other communities in the northern Jordan Valley, the residents are largely descendants of Bedouin tribes displaced from the Negev following the 1948 Arab–Israeli war.[1] Some families settled in the Simra area during the early 21st century after earlier displacement within the West Bank.[1]
The community's economy is based primarily on livestock grazing and limited rain-fed agriculture.[1]
Political and legal context
Khirbet Simra lies in Area C of the West Bank, which under the Oslo Accords remains under full Israeli civil and military control. Restrictions on construction, grazing areas, and access to infrastructure have affected many pastoral communities in the Jordan Valley.[3]
Recent developments
Residents of Khirbet Simra have reported repeated confrontations with nearby Israeli settlement outposts and herding outposts in recent years. Reports by humanitarian organizations and news outlets describe incidents including the establishment of settler outposts near the community, harassment of shepherds, and restrictions on access to pasturelands.[2][1]
According to reports published in 2025 and 2026, the establishment of new settler outposts close to the community and incidents involving livestock theft, intimidation, and land seizures have led some families to leave the area.[1][2] Settlers reportedly raided the Palestinian herding community of Simra on a near-daily basis, while Israeli forces present in the area did not intervene and prevented protective-presence activists from reaching the community.[4]
According to activist Amir Peri, settlers entered Simra, opened residents' water tanks, went between homes and attempted to enter them, and vandalized property including electrical systems, a television, and an iftar meal, also scattering bedding inside a family's bedroom. Peri reported that more settlers then arrived from nearby outposts in pickup trucks and all-terrain vehicles, provoking violent clashes. He said the army intervened only afterward by detaining most of the community's men; during the detentions, settlers allegedly beat one detainee and a settler directed soldiers to search for additional Palestinians, while the settlers dispersed without being removed. The detainees were reportedly released within an hour.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor-Sheinman, Dikla; Gee, Georgia (19 March 2025). "Israeli settler violence is rapidly emptying Jordan Valley of Palestinian communities". +972 Magazine.
- ^ a b c "Israeli colonists erect new tent near Palestinian homes in Khirbet Samra". WAFA. 1 February 2026.
- ^ Uprooted Livelihoods: Palestinian Villages and Herding Communities in the Jordan Valley (Report). Ma’an Development Center. 2013.
- ^ Ziv, Oren; Adra, Basel (2026-03-04). "The West Bank under military curfew, and settlers are exploiting the situation to escalate violence". Local Call (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-03-04.
- ^ Ziv, Oren; Adra, Basel (2026-03-04). "The West Bank under military curfew, and settlers are exploiting the situation to escalate violence". Local Call (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-03-04.