30/4/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
Like many other Palestinian villages and towns, the village of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, located south of the city of Nablus, is subjected to simultaneous violations and attacks by Israeli occupation soldiers and settler gangs. These practices have significantly aggravated the suffering of residents and turned their small village into a large prison due to the iron gates recently installed by the Israeli army.
According to monitoring and documentation by the Union for Justice Foundation, the practices of Israeli occupation soldiers and settler attacks have, since the beginning of this year, resulted in the martyrdom of one young man from the village, the burning and destruction of a number of properties, and the bulldozing and uprooting of hundreds of dunums of agricultural land.
On January 1st, Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire on the young man Khattab Mohammed Ismail Al-Sarhan Darraghmeh (26), while he was near the southern entrance of the village on the (Nablus–Ramallah Road), which led to his immediate death.
During the past month, occupation forces closed secondary roads inside and around the village using earth mounds and concrete barriers. These roads had been opened by residents as alternatives to the village’s main entrance, which the occupation has kept closed for months with an iron gate and concrete blocks.
Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya village, with a population of approximately 3,000 residents, is located 22 kilometers south of the city of Nablus. Its total land area is 15,637 dunums, of which occupation authorities confiscated 1,670 dunums to establish the settlements of “Ma’aleh Levona,” founded in 1983, and “Eli,” founded in 1984, in addition to the bypass roads serving these two settlements.
According to the Oslo Agreement, signed in 1993 between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization, 5,313 dunums of the village’s land are classified as Area (A), 4,037 dunums as Area (B), and 6,287 dunums as Area (C).
The current Israeli government, formed by extremist parties, seeks to annex the West Bank and impose full sovereignty over it through a series of measures and military decisions, ultimately leading to the abolition of the Palestinian territorial classifications stipulated in the Oslo Agreement.
Regarding occupation violations in Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, the Union for Justice Foundation reports that since the beginning of April, the Israeli army has been carrying out extensive bulldozing operations on nearby lands, resulting in the destruction and uprooting of hundreds of fruit-bearing trees.
On April 18, occupation bulldozers uprooted, over the course of two days, more than 650 olive and almond trees in the village plain near the girls’ secondary school and the main entrance. They also bulldozed more than 10 dunums of land planted with grains and vegetables.
On April 28, occupation bulldozers destroyed dozens of mature olive trees in the “Wadi Ali” area, southeast of the village.
Settler Attacks
Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya village is subjected to organized attacks by settler gangs coming from the settlements of “Ma’aleh Levona” and “Eli.” These attacks have resulted in injuries to several residents, the destruction of properties, and the establishment of a new settlement outpost.
The Union for Justice Foundation documented ten main attacks since the beginning of the current year, as follows:
On 20/2/2026, dozens of settlers attacked the areas of “Jabal Tarouja” and “Wadi Abwein” west of the village and opened fire toward residents’ homes.
On 23/2/2026, settlers bulldozed land and paved a settlement road in the “Wadi Yasouf” area on village lands, in preparation for establishing a settlement outpost, which was later carried out.
On 8/3/2026, settlers established a new outpost on residents’ lands between Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya (south of Nablus) and Yasouf (east of Salfit), including the installation of mobile homes in the “Wadi Yasouf” area after paving a colonial road that seized dozens of dunums of citizens’ lands.
On 20/3/2026, settlers stormed the Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya Girls’ School after smashing its main gate and caused material damage to some of its facilities.
This school had previously been stormed on 15/2/2026 by extremist Israeli Knesset member Tzvi Sukkot, accompanied by a number of armed settlers, during school hours.
On 29/3/2026, settlers bulldozed approximately 2,000 dunums of land in Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya and uprooted ancient olive trees (Roman-era) in the areas of Wadi Ali and Wadi Yasouf in the northern and southern parts of the village.
On 6/4/2026, dozens of settlers launched an attack on the village, injuring two residents, burning a house, two tents, and three vehicles, and attempting to steal livestock.
The following day, settlers in vehicles, motorcycles, and all-terrain vehicles stormed neighborhoods in the village and began firing randomly toward residents’ homes.
On 21/4/2026, settlers cut down more than 150 olive trees in the areas of Al-Khan and Wadi Ali southeast of the village, and the following day forced a number of farmers to leave their lands.
The Union for Justice Foundation believes that the daily attacks carried out by settlers on Palestinian villages and towns cannot be considered isolated incidents. Rather, they are part of organized plans supported and adopted by the Israeli government, which provides settlers with full financial, legal, and military backing, with the aim of displacing Palestinians and altering the demographic composition of the West Bank.
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