Family Forced Into Open Air After Settlers Took Over Cave They Lived in Following Home Demolition in Masafer Yatta
Occupied West Bank (QNN)- A Palestinian family has lived in the open for 11 days in Masafer Yatta, southern West Bank, after Israeli settlers took over a cave they had used as their home. For years, al-Amour family has taken refuge in a cave in Khirbet “Sarura,” south of Hebron, after Israel demolished their home several times under the pretext of “building without a permit.”
The family of 10 gathers around a small fire at night to stay warm and spends daylight hours exposed to the sun near the cave.
Jalal al-Amour, the family head said that settlers destroyed his belongings, brought their own possessions into the cave, and hung an Israeli flag inside. “I only want my home back. This is my house, and I will not leave until I recover it,” he said. A legal team is now following the case.
The family began using the cave years ago in Khirbet Sarura, south of Hebron, after Israeli authorities repeatedly demolished their home, citing “illegal construction” in Area C under the Oslo II Agreement of 1995. Area C covers roughly 61% of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli control. Many Palestinian families in Masafer Yatta now live in caves known locally as “al-Tur” after repeated demolitions.
The settlers occupied the cave on October 21 while al-Amour family attended a social event in nearby Yatta town. “I returned to the cave and found a settler family living inside. They destroyed all my possessions and claimed the cave as theirs,” al-Amour said. Since then, the family has staged a protest outside the cave with support from activists and supporters.
Israeli settlers established an outpost near Khirbet Sarura and the village of Al-Mafqara a year ago. From there, they frequently attack Palestinians and their homes. “They want to control the entire area and expel Palestinians,” al-Amour said.
Palestinians in Masafer Yatta and surrounding areas face repeated settler attacks targeting homes and farmland. Palestinian authorities report that over the past two years, settlers carried out 7,154 assaults in the West Bank, killing 33 people, displacing 33 Bedouin communities, and establishing 114 new outposts.
The violence in the West Bank has intensified alongside Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Israeli forces and settlers killed 1,062 Palestinians and injured nearly 10,000, while kidnapping more than 20,000, including 1,600 children.
Sources: Anadolu Agency
