On Monday, December 23rd, colonial settlers built a new illegal outpost on Bardala’s land, in the Northern Jordan Valley. It is located in the western outskirts of Bardala, separating the town from Khirbet Qa’un, and covering land on which Palestinian residents farm and graze livestock. On the morning of the 23rd, a group of settlers claimed the land, bringing approximately 30 cows and began to build the new outpost. Witnesses reported their arrival in two cars and a four-wheeler, carrying guns, as they begun to illegally construct infrastructure and graze the cows on Palestinian farm land.

Since the establishment of the outpost, the settlers, along with Settlements Council and Israeli military forces, have been moving through the land of Bardala and Khirbet Qa’un, putting pressure on local residents. Working under the direction of the Colonial Council, led by Shay Eigner, settlers in the Jordan Valley have been continuously threatening Palestinian residents with attacks, and forcefully preventing them from reaching their lands and farms.

On October 25th, international solidarity activists accompanied Palestinian residents of Bardala to their lands, located near the newly established outpost. Two armed settlers, together with Settlements Council paramilitary, reached the Palestinian farmers and the international activists, immediately calling for support from the military. When the soldiers arrived, they detained twelve people between Palestinians and internationals, who were extensively searched and questioned. The Israeli forces searched phones, asked for ID’s and took pictures of the detainees’ faces, preventing them from speaking, and separating Palestinians from internationals while waiting for the police’s intervention. The Palestinian elderly and children, along with the internationals, were eventually released after approximately three hours of detention. Other six Palestinian teenagers and men were taken into arrest. Handcuffed, and blindfolded, they were taken to the Bardala-Ibziq checkpoint, where they were held for another 5 hours.

In the following days, Palestinians continue to be prohibited from accessing their lands near the outpost under the claim the area is a closed military firing zone, in which their presence is illegal. Settlers are becoming increasingly present in the area, moving throughout Bardala and bringing more resources to the outpost, including water pipelines and infrastructure building materials.

The creation of this outpost is not a singular occurrence, as the number of military and colony outposts has been rapidly increasing throughout the Northern Jordan Valley. This establishment also follows the construction of a new apartheid ‘security road’ and fence by Israeli forces created to annex more Palestinian land and separate Palestinian communities from one another, further restricting right of movement and agricultural business.