Families throughout northern Jordan Valley under attack
Palestinian families in the northern Jordan Valley are facing a continuous onslaught of attacks from armed settlers and occupation forces. Settlers are roaming around the villages, intimidating and attacking local Palestinians, often followed by occupation forces acting on spurious allegations, coming to arrest the victims of settler attacks or to issue further threats. These families are now at the forefront of the struggle to stay on their historic land, simply by herding their animals, tending their crops and living where they have lived for generations.
On Monday 5th January 2026, two settlers with dogs, armed with a metal pole, harassed a Palestinian family in Samra and built a fire on their land.
The settlers drove onto the family’s land in an ATV (quad bike), with their two dogs. They built a fire and sat by it until just before midnight. During the night they approached the sheep pen where the family were protecting their sheep. The settlers were masked and carrying a metal pole and insulted, threatened and filmed the family. The settlers said “This land is ours. This house is ours. You are stealing our land. Leave!” and “I am responsible for the Khirbet Samra area.”
The patriarch of the family has lived in Khirbet Samra since he was born, in 1939, and is joined by two of his sons and their families.
Later one of the settlers began walking towards the sheep pen again, but when approached by one of the Palestinian shepherds and an international volunteer he retreated.
They eventually left, but not before driving their ATV towards the sheep pen then swinging around and driving off with their horn blaring.
On Thursday 8th January, soldiers paid the 3 households a visit and talked about the incident with the fire. They demanded to see their ID’s and warned them not to be violent towards the settlers. They also told them they are forbidden from going up the mountain behind their houses.
Also on 5th January, Asid Anwar Jamil Sawafta was attacked by settlers whilst grazing his sheep with his son, on the mountain to the west of Bardala. He was taken to the Turkish hospital in Tubas, where he received ten stitches to his head. He had to remain in the hospital for four days under observation, due to the severity of the injury that had been inflicted on him by the settlers. This is now becoming and ongoing and very serious situation, with Anwar’s family having been subjected to several attacks by settlers.
On Saturday 10th January, the occupation army arrested Muhammad Bani Odeh and Ahmed Bani Odeh, who are brothers from Khirbet Al-Hadidiya, while they were plowing their land. The two brothers own the land and have papers that clearly show this, but despite this, they were arrested. Mohammad Bani Odi, was forced to walk across the land blindfolded with his hands bound with a plastic bag.
On Sunday 11th January Settlers dressed in their Occupation army uniforms, attacked Palestinian family homes in Ein El Hilwe, just a few km north of Samra. They were clearly aiming to intimidate the family and caused extensive damage to their home. This was followed by yet another settler attack on the Samra community.
