Palestinian Authority local official Mohamed Mattar stands before the West Bank town of Al-Eizariya, which is set to be razed as part of the E1 settlement project, Wednesday, August 20, 2025. LAURENT VAN DER STOCKT FOR LE MONDE
From afar, the house is barely distinguishable from the expanse of stone and dust stretching below the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya. A closer look behind a cluster of olive trees reveals the makeshift home of the Al-Haresh family. The assembly of planks, tarpaulins and sheet metal is where Ismail, a gentle-faced Bedouin man in his fifties, raised his seven children, including 13-year-old Moussa, who serves coffee to visitors. He has lived here for 30 years, supporting his family with the proceeds from his goats, on land that he owns. And here, finally, he waits helplessly for the eviction ordered by Israeli authorities.
Attalla Al-Jahaleen, mayor of Jabal Al-Baba, received the eviction notices in his office two weeks prior. He displayed a simple white sheet with writing in Arabic and Hebrew announcing orders for 120 households to evacuate before bulldozers come to destroy their homes. The operation, approved by the Israeli Civil Administration on Wednesday, August 20, could begin as early as Thursday, August 21, the deadline given to the first evictees.
