Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 14.09.2026
Huge tents, refrigerators, gas cylinders, stoves, furniture and a Zionist flag planted in the ground caused a storm among residents of Majd al Krum over the weekend. Youths from a West Bank settlement have set up a residential complex in an area within the council’s municipal boundaries. Dozens of residents arrived at the site in the past 24 hours to protest, and police cars were rushed to the compound for fear of clashes against the settlers. The area where the boys are staying is owned by the JNF, which rented it out to the youths for grazing purposes. However, no sheep were seen in their settlement.
Attorney Hussein Manna, an expert in real estate law and a member of the council’s popular committee, told Haaretz that if “the youths had brought sheep as they say, put it in the area and fenced it off, then there would have been no problem with it. But renting land under the pretext that it’s for grazing purposes, and in practice building a settlement on it – it won’t pass.”
Manna made the remarks after speaking with the youths together with his colleague in the village’s popular committee, to find out why they were there. One of the conversations, which was broadcast live on Facebook, was the one that heightened the residents’ fears and led to unrest. “We came to graze goats here. We have a contract and permit. What’s wrong with you that we’re here? It’s very bad for you,” said one of the boys from Tekoa, smiling at the representative of the Popular Committee. When asked to show the goats a photo, the boy replied, “You can’t take pictures. As of now, there are no goats. We have permission to be here, and you’re not the person I need to submit documents to now.”
Knesset members and candidates from the Joint List arrived at the scene together with members of the Popular Committee and the local council. At first, the police prevented them from entering but later allowed them to enter. A representative of the Popular Committee called a KKL-JNF inspector to the scene, who, according to the representative, said that it appeared that the youths’ activities there were illegal and that they were expected to be fined. The representative also stated that construction work at the site is continuing, it seems that the government will protect the settlement, and it is clearer that the government is planning a new Nakba.