“Settlements above the Law”, a new film from BBC Eye, investigates extremist Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank amid claims that they are increasingly using violence to seize land and property from Palestinians in the region. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the area has become increasingly violent since Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023.
Extremist Jewish settlers are establishing a new type of illegal settlement known as a “herding outpost”, giving them access to huge areas of land. These and other outposts don’t have government approval and are illegal under Israeli law.
The BBC independently verified the location of 196 outposts established in the occupied West Bank, almost half of them built in the past five years. Documents seen by BBC Eye reveal that some of the settlers, who have established these herding outposts, have been supported by two powerful organisations in Israel. One of these organisations describes itself as “an arm of the Israeli state”.
The BBC spent six months investigating extremist settlers who have set up herding outposts. Two of these settlers were recently sanctioned by the UK and US governments for forcing Palestinians from their homes as part of a “campaign of violence and intimidation”.
Eyewitnesses give accounts to the BBC of how these extremist settlers have been able to seize more land for illegal outposts, often under the watch of the Israeli security forces.
Elderly couple Ayesha and Nabil told BBC Eye that, just days after the attacks of 7 October 2023, they were driven from their home by an extremist settler who is now internationally sanctioned.
In February 2024, the UK government sanctioned the settler for threatening, harassing and assaulting Palestinians in the Jordan Valley area – where Ayesha and Nabil lived. The sanctions mentioned that a community of 20 families were forced to flee after being attacked.
In exclusive footage obtained by the BBC, an extremist settler candidly discusses how effective the strategy of establishing herding outposts is in seizing large areas of land.
BBC Eye Investigations: Settlements above the Law is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer from today, Tuesday 3 September.
