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Al-Fakhit

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Khirbet al-Fakhit
خِرْبِة ٱلْفَخِيت
al-Fakheet; al-Fakhit
Hamlet
Khirbet al-Fakhit is located in West Bank
Khirbet al-Fakhit
Khirbet al-Fakhit
Location within the West Bank, Palestine
Coordinates: 31°22′36″N 35°09′58″E / 31.37667°N 35.16611°E / 31.37667; 35.16611
StatePalestine
GovernorateHebron Governorate
AreaMasafer Yatta
Time zoneUTC+2
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3

Khirbet al-Fakhit (also: al-Fakheet; Arabic: خِرْبِة ٱلْفَخِيت) is a small Palestinian herding hamlet in the South Hebron Hills, within the Masafer Yatta cluster of communities in the Hebron Governorate of the southern West Bank. The hamlet lies in Area C under Israeli civil and military control. Like other Masafer Yatta localities, large parts of its surroundings were declared Firing Zone 918 for military training in the 1980s, and residents face demolition orders, movement and planning restrictions, and recurrent settler-related incidents.[1][2]

History and archaeology

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1880s PEF Survey of Palestine map of Masafer Yatta
Al-Fakhit village in Masafer Yatta, Palestine

In 1838, Edward Robinson and noted al-Fakhit, misspelled al-Khafit, as a ruin located south of Jabal al-Khalil.[3]

In the 1870s, the Survey of Western Palestine described Khurbet el Fekhit as having “traces of ruins, and a cave.”[4]

Fakhit is one of the small villages of Masafer Yatta documented by early 20th-century surveys as an extension of Yatta. Like the other hamlets, it developed around quarried caves adapted as dwellings, supplemented by stone houses and terraces for farming. Aerial photography from 1945 onward reveals paths, cultivated plots, and animal pens in the area, indicating permanent habitation well before the 1980s. Despite this, the State of Israel has argued in court that such villages were established only after the declaration of a military firing zone.[5]

The broader Masafer Yatta landscape (Arabic masāfer, “travelling”) historically supported seasonal pastoralism and cave-adapted dwelling. Many present-day families trace connections to nearby Yatta and surrounding villages.[6] In the late 19th century, the Palestine Exploration Fund survey noted at Khirbet el Fekhît (identifiable with al-Fakhit) “traces of ruins, and a cave,” consistent with the area’s archaeological pattern of cisterns, field terraces and rock-hewn spaces.[7][8]


Legal–administrative context

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Al-Fakhit village in Masafer Yatta, Palestine
Administrative map of the area

Following the June 1967 war, Masafer Yatta came under Israeli occupation and was later included in Area C. In the 1980s, the army designated much of the area as Firing Zone 918, severely constraining civilian construction, service connections, and access to land.[1] On 4–5 May 2022, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected petitions against eviction, paving the way for expulsions across eight hamlets inside the firing zone.[9]

Al-Fakhit School. On 8 December 2024, Israel’s High Court allowed the Civil Administration to proceed with demolishing the donor-funded Khirbet al-Fakhit School in Masafer Yatta, the area’s only high school (serving ~130 students). A subsequent petition obtained an interim injunction halting demolition while proceedings continue; the State was ordered to respond by 12 January 2025.[10] As in adjacent hamlets, residents report reliance on solar panels and trucked water and recurrent confiscations or demolition of basic infrastructure.[11]

Population and livelihoods

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Al-Fakhit village school

Al-Fakhit is one of the smaller Masafer Yatta communities. Households subsist on mixed herding (goats and sheep), dryland plots and seasonal grazing. Water is primarily supplied by rain-fed cisterns and tankers; electricity often comes from solar units. Medical NGOs have documented the health impacts of the coercive environment on residents of al-Fakhit and neighbouring hamlets.[6][12]

Israeli attacks and settler violence

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  • On 16 January 2022, Israeli forces demolished homes of three families in Khirbet al-Fakhit, leaving 18 people homeless, as part of broader efforts to expel residents of Masafer Yatta.[13] Once demolitions got underway, one family in one of the affected villages, Khirbet al-Fakhiet, cleared out space in a cavern for themselves and their livestock to tide them over winter.[14]
  • Additional demolition and confiscation incidents affecting shelters and livelihood structures in/al-Fakhit and neighbouring hamlets have been documented, including throughout 2024.[15][16]
  • Human rights groups have recorded settler intrusions and attacks in and around al-Fakhit and adjacent communities in Masafer Yatta.[17]

On 27 September 2025, dozens of armed Israeli settler militants carried out a large-scale attack on the village. The settlers stormed the village, throwing stones at residents and their homes, vandalizing property, and setting fire to agricultural fields. During the assault, the settlers brutally attacked an elderly Palestinian woman along with two international activists who were present in solidarity with the community. The attackers also damaged vehicles and attempted to prevent ambulances from attending the wounded.[18][19]

According to local reports, the settlers arrived from nearby outposts under the protection of Israeli soldiers, who played a complicit role in the attack. Independent human rights organizations described the assault as a pogrom, and part of a wider state-sponsored policy aimed at driving Palestinians from their lands in Masafer Yatta.[20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fact sheet: Masafer Yatta communities at risk of forcible transfer". UN OCHA. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Firing Zone 918". B'Tselem. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 114
  4. ^ C. R. Conder and H. H. Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology, Volume III: Judaea (London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1883), p. 408.
  5. ^ Amira Hass, "Israel Blew Up Their Houses in 1966. Now It Claims Their Village Never Existed," Haaretz, 27 April 2021
  6. ^ a b "At Tuwani & Mosfaret Yatta Profile" (PDF). Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ). 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  7. ^ Conder, C.R.; H.H. Kitchener (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography and Archaeology, Vol. 3 (Judæa). London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 408.
  8. ^ Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
  9. ^ McKernan, Bethan (22 May 2022). "In the firing zone: evictions begin in West Bank villages after court ruling". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Humanitarian Situation Update #248 (West Bank)". UN OCHA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Palestinian Bedouins in Hebron face demolitions, settler attacks". Al Jazeera. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Israel's coercive measures undermine people's health in Masafer Yatta". Médecins Sans Frontières. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Israel demolishes the homes of three families in Khirbet al-Fakhit, Masafer Yatta". B'Tselem. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  14. ^ Bethan McKernan; Quique Kierszenbaum (28 September 2022). "Every day is worse than the one before': a Palestinian community fights for survival". The Guardian.
  15. ^ "Facing Expulsion blog – incidents in Masafer Yatta (incl. al-Fakhit)". B'Tselem. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Demolitions and displacement data dashboard". UN OCHA. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Settler incursions in Masafer Yatta hamlets (incl. al-Fakhit) – report in Arabic". B'Tselem. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  18. ^ "مستوطنون يهاجمون قرية الفخيت جنوب الخليل ويصيبون مسنة ومتضامنتين" (in Arabic). Safa. 27 September 2025.
  19. ^ "مستوطنون يشنون هجوما على قرية الفخيت بمسافر يطا" (in Arabic). Najah News. 27 September 2025.
  20. ^ "مستوطنون يهاجمون قرية الفخيت جنوب الخليل" (in Arabic). Ma'an News Agency. 27 September 2025.
  21. ^ "اعتداءات جديدة للمستوطنين في قرية الفخيت جنوب الخليل" (in Arabic). al-Dostor. 28 September 2025.