Khirbet Zanuta is a Palestinian shepherd community located in the southwest of the Hebron Mountains. The village was home to approximately 250 residents, who, like other shepherd communities in the West Bank, originally lived in natural caves reinforced with stone entrances. However, by the 1980s, as the caves began to collapse, the residents were forced to abandon them and construct stone houses with tin and tarpaulin roofs. The village is situated along Highway 60, west of the Meitar junction (Construction of the Shoket interchange between Highway 31 and Highway 60, including bridge and road building). The construction of this road divided the village into two parts, further complicating life for its inhabitants.
According to a report by the Association for Civil Rights (September 2017), in 2007, the Civil Administration issued demolition orders for most of the houses in the village. The state's justification was that these structures had been built illegally, without permits. However, in reality, the residents had no means of obtaining building permits. Like most Palestinian villages located in Area C, Khirbet Zanuta lacks a master plan, making it legally impossible for residents to receive building approvals.
The Civil Administration further argued that the village did not warrant urban planning due to its small population size, the presence of an archaeological site in the area (which includes the remains of a mosque, previously used for overnight stays), and the relatively large distance between the village and the nearest town. Despite these claims, most of the village's residents were born and raised there, while others came from the nearby town of Ad-Dhahiriya, settling in Khirbet Zanuta when they began raising sheep.
In 2017, legal proceedings in the High Court of Justice (HCJ) led to the state announcing that the Supreme Planning Council would hold a hearing to examine the possibility of legally recognizing and preserving the village through planning measures. As a result, the judge closed the petition, temporarily freezing the Civil Administration's demolition orders until the regularization process was completed.
Despite this legal respite, in December 2018, the Regavim movement petitioned the District Court, demanding the demolition of a newly built school in the village. However, this demand was ultimately not enforced, allowing the school to remain standing.
In the following years, legal battles concerning the village's future and the rights of its residents continued without resolution.
In early February 2022, the human rights organization Machsom Watch reported an incident in which Hilltop Youth attacked the village shepherds and attempted to seize their flock. The Israeli army, despite observing the attack from a distance, did not intervene until the settlers themselves called for military assistance. When the soldiers finally arrived, they responded not by stopping the assailants, but by throwing a stun grenade at the flock. In the chaos that followed, settlers' dogs attacked and killed three sheep. Following the incident, Israeli police arrested three Palestinian shepherds, while one of the settlers was also briefly taken for questioning but was immediately released.
In late July 2024, in response to two petitions filed before the High Court of Justice (HCJ 8117/23 and HCJ 8242/23), residents of several Palestinian villages in the southern Hebron Hills – including Khirbet Zanuta and another village – claimed they were not receiving adequate protection from law enforcement authorities despite ongoing harassment and violence directed against them and their property.
The petitioners requested that the court order the Israeli military and police to ensure their protection and facilitate their return to their homes, after they had been forcibly displaced due to repeated attacks and ongoing threats. They contended that law enforcement agencies were failing to uphold their legal obligations, exposing them to constant danger and, in some cases, forcing them to abandon their homes altogether.
During the court hearing, a senior officer from the Hebron Police acknowledged that violent, nationalistically motivated attacks do occur in the area and admitted that there were suspicions that Israeli soldiers had been involved in some of these incidents.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the judges reaffirmed the duty of Israeli military and police forces operating in the West Bank to protect all residents from violence and unlawful actions. The court emphasized that this obligation stems both from international law, which applies to the area, and from the fundamental principles of the rule of law.
The court further noted that repeated physical attacks on residents and their property are a serious matter that requires an effective response from law enforcement agencies. The judges stressed that authorities must act decisively to prevent such attacks and ensure the safety of all individuals under their jurisdiction.
The court reaffirmed that: "The picture that emerges from the petitioners' claims is, to say the least, disturbing. In fact, even from the respondents' statements, it is evident that the response provided is incomplete – despite their claim that all possible measures were taken. It is important to emphasize that the petitioners are protected residents who are entitled to an adequate response from the authorities in the region, particularly in relation to allegations of repeated violence against them. Accordingly, it is the duty of law enforcement agencies in the area to ensure the safety of the petitioners and maintain public order, even amid the complex circumstances of the current period and despite any operational limitations."
In November 2023, the Kerem Navot volunteer association reported that the residents of Khirbet Zanuta had been partially or fully expelled over recent years due to violence from settlers and the military.
According to testimony from B'Tselem, since the outbreak of war following the October 7, 2023 massacre, residents had been subjected to continuous harassment and threats from armed settlers, and, at times, even soldiers, who demanded that they leave the area. Armed settlers repeatedly arrived in the village, threatening to harm the residents if they refused to vacate their homes.
Between October 12 and October 27, 2023, a series of violent assaults took place: October 12 – Armed settlers arrived in two vehicles, targeted three homes, physically attacked residents using their hands and weapons, destroyed solar panels, vandalized a car door, and left; October 23 – Two settlers entered the home of a family, shoved the mother, emptied two water tanks, and departed; October 24 – Settlers attacked the community, stoned residents, shattered solar panels and house windows, and emptied additional water tanks; October 27 – Four masked settlers drove into the village and harassed residents sitting near their homes, demanding that they stop filming. They then threw a stun grenade at the residents, forcing them to retreat indoors.
Following these relentless assaults, approximately 200 residents of Khirbet Zanuta abandoned their homes. This village was one of about 25 communities expelled under the cover of war in Gaza.
Immediately after the residents fled, settlers descended upon the village and systematically demolished it: Trees were cut down; Every house was razed to the ground; The school was completely destroyed (a five-grade school completed in 2014).
With their homes and community obliterated, the residents filed an urgent petition to the High Court of Justice in an attempt to reclaim their land.
In July 2024, the state declared before the court that it would allow the displaced residents to return to the ruins of their village. However, due to repeated bureaucratic delays, it was not until late August 2024 that dozens of residents returned to Khirbet Zanuta.
Upon their return, they began efforts to restore the village: Some brought their flocks of sheep back; Others inspected water wells and fruit trees; Residents worked to remove metal poles and concrete blocks placed by settlers to block village roads They planned to bring women and children back after a few weeks, once some form of shelter was established.
However, the scene in the village was grim: No buildings remained intact; No trees for shade; No roofs to provide shelter; No school for children.
Every attempt to rebuild – even placing a single stone – was immediately met with a harsh response from the Israeli military and police. Even shade cloths were confiscated, deemed "illegal construction."
Since their return, the residents of Khirbet Zanuta have been subjected to constant surveillance by settlers, particularly those from the Meitarim (an outpost established in 2021 by Yinon Levi). The settlers: Flew drones over the village; Circled the area non-stop; Entered the destroyed houses to prevent any reconstruction.
Beyond settler interference, the Israeli Civil Administration formally prohibited residents from rebuilding their homes. The head of the Civil Administration's infrastructure branch informed the villagers that they had 30 days to evacuate, citing a 2007 legal petition as justification. Additionally, a High Court judge referenced a 2017 petition, stating: "If no resolution is found, the demolition orders will be reinstated with a 30-day notice."
Despite the passing of seven years, during which no formal planning measures were enacted, and no demolition orders were carried out, the deadline expired, and the final remaining fragments of the village were cleared away.
By October 2024, reports confirmed that Khirbet Zanuta was completely destroyed and abandoned: The school was partially burned; Its windows were shattered; The walls were covered in Hebrew graffiti; The houses were ransacked, with broken walls and burned roofs.
Several former residents attempted to return and restore the ruins, but IDF soldiers and violent settlers from the nearby outpost blocked them at every turn.
Due to their continued inability to return to their village – despite the court's ruling permitting them to do so – the displaced residents of Khirbet Zanuta filed a lawsuit for contempt of court with the Supreme Court. Their claim was that the state had failed to comply with the ruling.
As evidence, they attached documentation of settler violence, detailing approximately 100 recorded incidents of attacks, including settlers entering their land – and even their homes. They further alleged that the police ignored their calls for help, and when a patrol vehicle was dispatched, no indictments were ever filed against the perpetrators.
Compounding their plight, the Civil Administration formally notified the residents that their homes had been built illegally and ordered them to relocate to an area approximately three kilometers away.
In early January 2025, during a hearing on the enforcement of laws against settler violence in the southern Hebron Hills, including Khirbet Zanuta, Justice Dafna Barak-Erez opened the session with a stark acknowledgment: "We are in a crisis situation. What is happening to the lives of these people? This is not a normal case of enforcement, but rather enforcement that was carried out illegally. You have plans, but in the meantime, there are people with nowhere to live." Acting Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit further criticized the police, stating unequivocally that they "do not enforce settler violence." He pointedly remarked: "Not a single indictment has been filed. We see settlers inside the residents’ own homes."
In February 2025, the High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the expelled residents, ordering the state to allow them to return to Khirbet Zanuta. The ruling explicitly stated: "The police and the army must ensure that settlers are removed from the village and its lands in a continuous manner and with due diligence." Furthermore, the judges mandated that the state permit residents to rebuild the homes and structures that had been destroyed by settlers after the residents’ forced departure.
Following the court's decision, the head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council strongly condemned the ruling, calling it a "delusion." He argued that: "The High Court is encouraging illegal settlement and construction at an archaeological site, while destroying precious finds that are thousands of years old – all due to the Civil Administration’s failure to enforce the law."
In light of the ongoing struggle, one can only hope – as is customary in these lands –that we shall "let the sons return to their borders" – and "they shall learn no war anymore."