UN Human Rights Office: Demolition Orders in Um Al-Khair, South of Hebron, Foreshadow New Displacement

SadaNews - The United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territories stated that the demolition orders issued by the Israeli occupation authorities on the 28th of last month in the village of Um Al-Khair, located in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, threaten a new wave of forced displacement.

The UN office called in a statement issued today, Friday, for an immediate halt to the mass demolition orders, which target 11 homes and vital community infrastructure in the village of Um Al-Khair.

It noted that the village of Um Al-Khair is home to 35 extended families who have lived there since being expelled from their lands in the Negev during the mass forced displacement of Palestinians between 1948 and 1949, known as Nakba.

It pointed out that for years, the occupation authorities have subjected the residents of Um Al-Khair to discriminatory land regulation practices, in addition to multiple rounds of systematic demolitions of Palestinian structures that have led to the displacement of residents.

The UN office affirmed that the occupation claims that the houses in Um Al-Khair are "illegal" for not having Israeli building permits, which Palestinians cannot obtain as is the case in other Palestinian villages in the southern Hebron hills and neighboring areas like Masafer Yatta.

The office indicated that, in contrast, settlers are allowed to expand settlements and establish new colonial outposts linked to the adjacent "Karmeil" settlement. In September of last year, settlers established a colonial outpost in the middle of Um Al-Khair and intensified their harassment of Palestinian residents to force them to leave. Despite an interim Israeli court order halting construction and preventing settlers from entering the outpost, the occupation authorities have taken no action to enforce the order, in stark contrast to the rapid and repeated demolitions of Palestinian buildings.

It clarified that impunity extends to the unaccountable violence of settlers, which has escalated since October 7, 2023. On July 28, 2025, a known settler shot and killed Palestinian human rights defender Awda Al-Hdhalin during a protest against the construction of a new colonial road on the community’s land. Al-Hdhalin himself documented the shooting, with video footage from another resident clearly showing the identity of the shooter. However, the suspect was placed under house arrest for only three days and was then released without any further consequences.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded that colonial expansion, the demolition of Palestinian homes and properties, restrictions on movement, and discriminatory urban planning measures have created a coercive environment driving Palestinians to displacement, constituting forced population transfer, which is considered a war crime.

Ajith Sangai, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territories, stated that the situation in Um Al-Khair exemplifies a rising wave of Israeli steps aimed at entrenching its annexation of the West Bank, especially Area C, in violation of international law.

He added: "Time is running out. The international community must exert pressure to protect the residents of Um Al-Khair from the imminent threat of forced displacement and from any additional violence or deprivation of their properties."