Tayasir in the Face of Settler Encroachment: Field Executions and Silent Displacement of the Jordan Valley

The town of Tayasir, east of Tubas city, is experiencing a state of turmoil following the execution of young Alaa Subeih by an Israeli soldier on leave, once again highlighting the intertwined roles of the occupation army and settlers. This incident comes in the context of escalating attacks targeting the Palestinian presence in the Northern Jordan Valley, where the occupation continues to detain the martyr's body and refuses to hand it over to his family.\n\nThe Al-Safah area in Tayasir is a living example of the daily suffering endured by farmers, who face continuous harassment and direct physical assaults. Farmer Anan Daraghmeh, who transformed 120 dunams into a productive orchard providing livelihoods for dozens of families, recently suffered a violent attack that resulted in broken bones in his hand and the burning of his property and vehicles by settler groups.\n\n The stark irony is that these attacks occur within areas classified as (A) according to the Oslo Accords, which are supposed to be under full Palestinian civil and security control. This transgression proves that the settlement project does not recognize political divisions and aims to undermine any future Palestinian sovereignty over vital agricultural lands.\n\n The crimes were not limited to physical intimidation but extended to burning inhabited homes, as happened to the family of citizen Ali Al-Faqir, who were displaced after their home turned to ashes. This family of 16 is now homeless, and this is the second time they have been displaced after being previously expelled from the Al-Maleh area under flimsy military pretexts.\n\nHani Abu Ali, head of the Tayasir Village Council, indicates that settlement outposts are now suffocating the town's population expansion, with some being no more than 200 meters from citizens' homes. This deliberate proximity places hundreds of dunams of agricultural greenhouses under constant threat and prevents farmers from safely accessing their lands to harvest their crops.\n\n The violations extend beyond land to the theft of water and electricity resources, as settlers forcibly connect their own lines to Palestinian farmers' networks. This behavior imposes enormous economic and psychological burdens on the landowners, who watch their wealth plundered to support illegal settlement outposts established on the ruins of their historical rights.\n\n On the legal front, the Village Council is making strenuous efforts through communication with official bodies and Palestinian liaison to put an end to these transgressions and remove new outposts. Despite repeated promises to evacuate settlers, the reality on the ground indicates continued attempts to impose new facts through setting up tents and seizing springs.\n\n Experts in settlement affairs believe that what is happening in Tayasir falls within the "pastoral settlement" strategy, which aims to control vast areas with the fewest number of settlers. This policy relies on daily intimidation to create an environment that expels the indigenous population, ultimately leading to silent forced displacement away from international attention.\n\n The Jordan Valley, which constitutes about 30% of the West Bank's area, is considered the major food basket and strategic extension of the desired Palestinian state. Therefore, the occupation strives with all its might to transform it into closed military zones or nature reserves, to cut off any Palestinian geographical connection with the Jordanian borders.\n\n Official reports issued by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission indicate that 2025 witnessed an unprecedented escalation, with more than 23,000 attacks recorded in various governorates. These figures reflect a systematic policy aimed at emptying the land, and have already led to the complete displacement of 13 Bedouin communities since the beginning of this year.\n\n Despite all these pressures, the residents of Tayasir and the Jordan Valley show legendary steadfastness in clinging to their lands, demanding the strengthening of infrastructure and the construction of agricultural roads as tools of resistance and resilience. Providing basic services in remote areas is the most important weapon in confronting the attempts of uprooting and displacement practiced by the various arms of the occupation.\n\n The battle in Tayasir is not just a dispute over village borders, but an existential battle that touches the core of the entire Palestinian national project. Targeting farmers in their livelihoods and burning their children's books and school bags aims to break the national will, which the residents meet with determination to remain and rebuild.\n\n Local sources confirm that the occupation army now provides full cover for settlers, and even participates with them in carrying out attacks, especially after the events of October 2023. This shift has made every settler a presumed soldier, and every Palestinian farmer a legitimate target in the eyes of the occupation system that is racing against time to effectively annex the Jordan Valley.\n\n In conclusion, international and institutional action remains an urgent necessity to protect what remains of the geographical and demographic unity of the Jordan Valley. Silence on what is happening in Tayasir and the Al-Safah area gives the green light to the occupation to continue its policy of ethnic cleansing that targets the pillars of food security and Palestinian sovereignty.\n\n We reclaimed this land from nothing, as it was unsuitable for cultivation, and we will not leave it no matter the sacrifices.