On Thursday night, 17 July 2025, settlers carried out a severe attack in the area of Hamamat al-Malih, during which they brutally assaulted 47-year-old Salem Najadah. Soldiers who were called to the scene by the settlers drained Najadah and his brother for several hours. While the brothers were detained, the settlers stole their flock of about 350 sheep, killed around 100 of the animals, and injured many others.
Following this attack, a previous massive livestock theft in Ras ‘Ein al-’Auja in the southern Jordan Valley and growing settler violence in the area, all the families living in the three communities of the al-Malih area, Khirbet al-Malih, ‘Ein al-Meyteh, and al-Burj, were forced to move their flocks to Area A, fearing that settlers would steal or kill their sheep. Some families left the area altogether.
On Friday, 18 July 2025, the day after the theft and killing of the sheep, brothers Tareq and ‘Ali Hmeid left Khirbet al-Malih with their families, numbering a total of 10 people, including five minors. The families relocated to the al-’Auja area. Shortly afterward, brothers Salem and Suliman Najadah also left with their families, numbering a total of 23 people, including 12 minors, to al-’Auja as well. Four more families, numbering a total of 20 people, including 13 minors, moved their livestock away from the Hamamat al-Malih area immediately after the attack and left the area altogether over the following month.
In total, 8 families, 53 people, including 30 minors, have left the Hamamat al-Malih area since the attack, relocating to Bardalah, al-’Auja, Tayasir, and Tubas.
Background on the area:
The Hamamat al-Malih area lies about 10 kilometers east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley. In the past, the site included an Ottoman-era inn, a flour mill, and hot springs where thousands of Palestinians and travelers would come to bathe, giving the place its name. After Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, the military established a training camp about one kilometer away and closed off extensive areas to local residents. Over 90% of the land in the Hamamat al-Malih area belongs to the Latin Patriarchate, and dozens of families lived in it, some originally from Tubas and others from Bedouin communities in the northern Jordan Valley.
Over the past decade, harassment of residents by settlers and Israeli forces has escalated significantly. Most residents rely on sheep and cattle rearing for their livelihood. The military frequently prohibits grazing in the firing zones surrounding the community, and with the proliferation of settler herding outposts nearby, settlers have taken over vast grazing areas previously used by Hamamat shepherds. As a result, families have been forced to seek alternative grazing land. The hot springs have dried up due to intensive drilling by the Israeli water company Mekorot, leaving the area almost completely arid. The elementary school established by the Palestinian Authority, which serves about 45 students, is under repeated demolition threats from the Civil Administration.
Since 7 October 2023, conditions in the area have further deteriorated, with settler harassment and attacks sharply increasing. Two settler outposts have been established nearby: the Tevetz outpost (“Yad HaShomer Farm”) in August 2024, about one kilometer east of Hamamat, and the Tayasir Checkpoint outpost (“Tzvi HaOfarim Farm”) in February 2025, about four kilometers west of the area. Settlers arriving from these two outposts harass and assault residents of the area and neighboring communities on a nearly daily basis. In addition, the military has imposed further restrictions on Palestinian movement in the area, including reduced and irregular operating times at the Tayasir checkpoint, making life extremely difficult for residents, and particularly impeding the transport of water and animal feed.