The First Village to Be Completely Displaced Since 1967: The Forcible Displacement of the Shalal al-Auja Community and the Crime of Forced Transfer Under International Law
3/2/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation is following with grave concern the crime of complete forcible displacement suffered by the Shalal al-Auja community, located north of the city of Jericho in the Palestinian Jordan Valley. This displacement culminated in the removal of the last remaining Palestinian families from the community on Saturday, 31/1/2026, thereby completing the depopulation of an entire village with all its residents—an extremely dangerous precedent not witnessed in the Palestinian territories since 1967, and in an area that has not experienced any armed clashes or exceptional security circumstances.
The Shalal al-Auja community is one of the Palestinian Bedouin and agricultural communities whose residents have settled in the area for many decades. Prior to the displacement, it was home to approximately 1,200 Palestinians belonging to around 120 families, who relied primarily on agriculture, livestock breeding, and nearby natural water sources, foremost among them the Al-Auja spring. The community maintained a purely civilian character, without any military presence or security use, which renders what it has been subjected to devoid of any justifications that could be relied upon under international law.
The Foundation notes that the displacement of the community was not a sudden measure, but rather the result of a systematic policy that extended over years and reached the stage of complete forcible displacement as of January 2026. During this period, violations escalated in an unprecedented manner, within a framework based on creating a coercive environment unfit for life, aimed at forcing residents to leave against their will.
Residents were subjected to a continuous series of violations, including repeated incursions, physical assaults, and direct threats—particularly against women and children—in addition to the destruction of homes, structures, and livestock shelters. Their sources of livelihood were targeted through restrictions on water access and grazing lands, and shepherds were harassed on an almost daily basis.
With the escalation of these violations, remaining in the community became a constant risk amid the absence of any effective protection for civilians, forcing families to leave their homes one after another in order to safeguard their lives and the safety of their children. This policy reached its peak in the final stage, which witnessed the dismantling of the tent of international solidarity activists who were present for protection and human rights monitoring purposes, coinciding with the displacement of the last Palestinian families, in a step aimed at completely emptying the area of any Palestinian or solidarity presence.
The Union for Justice Foundation affirms that what occurred in the Shalal al-Auja community constitutes a fully-fledged crime of forcible displacement under international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention, particularly Article (49), prohibits the individual or mass forcible transfer of protected persons under occupation, regardless of the pretexts or circumstances. Such displacement also constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which criminalizes the forcible deportation or transfer of civilian populations from occupied territory.
The Foundation stresses that the absence of any hostilities or imperative military reasons in the area decisively nullifies any security claims that may be invoked to justify this crime, and confirms that what occurred falls within a policy of demographic emptying and alteration of the population character of occupied territory—an act prohibited by customary international law and classified as one of the most serious grave breaches.
The Union for Justice Foundation warns that the displacement of the Shalal al-Auja community does not represent an isolated incident, but rather comes within a broader context of targeting the Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley, a strategic area over which the occupying authorities seek to impose full control by emptying it of its indigenous population in favor of expansion and settlement projects, in blatant violation of the right of the population to land, housing, and a dignified life.
Accordingly, the Union for Justice Foundation holds the occupying authorities fully legally responsible for the crime of forcible displacement and its humanitarian consequences, and calls upon the international community, United Nations bodies, and the relevant Special Rapporteurs on human rights to take urgent action to halt the policy of forcible displacement in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, provide immediate protection to threatened communities, and ensure accountability for those responsible for these crimes through international justice mechanisms.
The Foundation further affirms its commitment to continuing the documentation of crimes of forcible displacement and related violations, and to working on their inclusion within legal and human rights case files submitted to competent international bodies, in defense of the right to land, housing, and human dignity, and in protection of the principles of international humanitarian law.
