West Bank (Area C)

A Bedouin-Palestinian village located along the Jerusalem-Dead Sea Road. Its residents, members of the Jahalin tribe originally from the Negev, were forced to leave their living area in 1949 following the border agreement between Israel and Jordan. Their locality in the northern Judean Desert was never recognized, and they have lived without any planning framework ever since. In the absence of planning, residents suffer from severe hardships: lack of employment, limited access to education, and no basic services or infrastructure. In recent years, state-backed efforts—often encouraged by settlers (or vice versa)—to demolish the village and expel its residents have intensified. Bimkom has accompanied the community in its struggle to remain and in formulating a framework for a permanent settlement on their land.

Dkeika is a small, herding community of the Ka'abneh-Furijat Bedouin Palestinian tribe, located on the edge of the South Hebron Hills. Since the occupation began—and increasingly after settlements were established nearby—Israel has refused to recognize the village or prepare a plan for its development. Instead, authorities have attempted to pressure Dkeika residents to relocate to the nearby locality of Khmeida-Najadaeh. Bimkom supports Dkeika's struggle for in situ recognition. We assist with court appeals against home demolitions, conduct anthropological research on the community’s land use and way of life, and prepare planning principles to regularize the village on its current site.

Ras Ein al-Auja, located in the southern Jordan Valley, is the largest shepherding community in the West Bank. It comprises about 150 families from the Jahalin, Ka'abna, and Rashida tribes, along with families from Yatta and Samu'. Since the 1970s, they have lived on land leased from residents of nearby al-'Awja. In the early 2000s, settler outposts began to emerge around the village, restricting grazing land, blocking access to the main water source, and exposing residents to settler violence. Bimkom supported the community's request to establish a functional protection zone to prohibit the entry of settlers, but this request was denied. By early 2026, Ras Ein al-Auja families could no longer endure the violence and left the area.

Located southeast of Qalqilya, 'Arab ar-Ramadin is home to about 500 residents, originally refugees from the Negev. In the 1950s, they purchased the land they live on, but because the village has no outline plan, Israel considers all construction there "illegal." The separation barrier imprisoned the village within the Alfei Menashe settlement enclave, cutting it off from Palestinian life. In 2004, Bimkom helped the community and nearby villages petition against the barrier’s route. Following the petition, the route was changed—but 'Arab ar-Ramadin and neighboring 'Arab Abu Farda remained trapped inside. Since then, authorities have made life increasingly difficult, aiming to pressure residents into "voluntarily" leaving for the Palestinian side of the barrier. Bimkom is now assisting the community in preparing an outline plan to advance before the Civil Administration.

Umm al-Khair is a Bedouin-Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills, east of Yatta. In the early 1950s, its residents were expelled from the Negev’s Tel Arad area and settled on land they purchased from Yatta residents. For generations, they sustained themselves through shepherding, seasonal movement, and dry farming. Since the 1980s, the establishment of nearby settlements—Carmel and Ma'on—along with state land declarations and firing zones, has severely restricted their movement and grazing. These measures are part of a broader effort to concentrate local communities into a limited space. The village lacks infrastructure; residents rely on wells, water tanks, and solar power. In the 2000s, the Civil Administration issued dozens of demolition orders. Meanwhile, settlers began blocking access to grazing land, destroying infrastructure, and threatening residents. Bimkom has long supported the community in its struggle against land encroachment, demolitions, and for an approved outline plan.

An outlying area (khirba) of the village of Tullet and home to a Palestinian shepherding community since 1948. Starting in the 1980s, settlements were established around Kafr Qara, gradually isolating it from the surrounding area. Since October 2023, Israel imposed numerous movement restrictions throughout the West Bank, including de facto blockages of vital roads. Kafr Qara was left with no access route. Bimkom, together with other organizations, accompanies village residents in their demand to receive fundamental conditions such as access to water and food and to move within the area. Through analysis of aerial photographs, we provided proof that there were houses in the village before 1967, an essential condition for demanding that the Civil Administration connect the village to water and electricity infrastructure.