Khirbet Lasefar, South Hebron Hills: Israeli settlers stop Palestinian farmers from working their land in front of soldiers and police
Israel has blocked farmers from the community of Khirbet Lasefar in the South Hebron Hills from accessing their land. On 24 May 2022, as part of the long legal battle the community has waged to regain access, the Israeli military informed the farmers they may access their land and cultivate it without prior coordination with the military.
On Wednesday, 21 December 2022, landowners from the Bheis and Abu Qabitah families went to their plots of land. An Israeli settler whom they recognize arrived and called soldiers, who ordered the farmers to leave and suggested they return a week later. The following week, the military informed the farmers they would be able to access their land on Wednesday with a military escort. On Wednesday, 28 December 2022, the farmers arrived at their land at 9:00 A.M. with a military escort. As soon as they arrived, the same settler turned up with another settler, and the two began shouting and demanding the farmers leave. The soldiers, as well as police officers and Civil Administration personnel who arrived in the meantime, did nothing to help the farmers. The tractor driver that the farmers hired was scared and initially drove away. When he tried to return, one of the settlers blocked his way. The farmers waited in the hope that they would be able to work their land, but at 1:00 P.M., the military gave the families a Closed Military Zone order and they were once again driven off their own land, unable to plow it.