On Monday, 18 August 2025, an extended family of nine, including three children, took down its residential structure in the northwestern part of Ras ‘Ein al-‘Auja, a community in the southern Jordan Valley, and moved to live near the town of al-‘Auja. The family, which includes parents, their children, a daughter-in-law and a grandchild, was forced to leave due to escalating settler incursions and abuses, as the father, who works outside the community, feared leaving his family members there.
The community of Ras ‘Ein al-‘Auja is located about 10 kilometers north of Jericho. With 120 families and about 700-800 people, this is the largest shepherding community remaining today in the West Bank and the last to survive in the southern Jordan Valley after settlers completed the expulsion of the al-Mu’arajat community in early July 2025. The community suffers from repeated incursions by settlers coming from outposts established around it. The settlers invade yards and open spaces between homes with herds of camels and sheep and drive around on ATVs, steal sheep and other property, harass residents, burn vacant structures and more, all with the support of the military and the police.