map of Masafer Yatta map of Masafer Yatta In 1881, the British
Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) noted the following places: , meaning 'the spur of the
terebinth', , meaning 'the peak or ridge of
Artemisia', and , meaning 'the ruin of the perennial
well'. At , PEF noted "traces of ruins, and a
cistern", while at , they noted "traces of ruins, and a cave." More than one thousand Palestinians risk being expelled from their homes and properties. According to
The Guardian, "Palestinian water cisterns, solar panels, roads and buildings here are frequently demolished on the grounds that they do not have building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain, while surrounding illegal Israeli settlements flourish. The community are mostly herders, raising goats and sheep throughout scorching summers and freezing winters." The villagers appealed to the
Israeli Supreme Court on the grounds that they have evidence of living in the area before the Israeli occupation. Israeli authorities have attempted to relocate the residents to Yatta, supplying aerial photographic evidence which illustrates no or limited signs of habitation prior to the 1990s. Former senior Defense Ministry advisor, Kobi Eliraz reinforced the point, stating, “They never lived there. You don’t see, for example, consistent agricultural cultivation or orchards [in satellite photos]…There are no permanent houses that are clear and visible to the eye,”
Attack by Israeli settlers In September 2021, a mob of approximately 80 to 100 masked
Israeli settlers invaded the village of Khirbat al-Mufkara, one of the hamlets that compose Masafer Yatta, throwing stones at houses and damaging cars; 12 Palestinians were injured, including a three-year-old Palestinian child who was hit in the head when an Israeli settler threw a stone at him while he was asleep inside his home. Foreign Minister
Yair Lapid reacted by calling it a "violent incident", "horrific, and it is terror. This isn't the Israeli way, and it isn't the Jewish way. This is a violent and dangerous fringe, and we have a responsibility to bring them to justice." There were further attacks in 2026, with
Basel Adra writing for
+972 Magazine that a "
pogrom" had occurred in January, reporting that "settlers set homes ablaze and looted livestock across three villages for over five hours, Israeli soldiers blocked ambulances, arrested victims, and even took part in beatings." There were attacks in Masafer Yatta in March 2026 as part of a broader series of attacks by settlers throughout the West Bank.
Forcible transfer In May 2022, the Israeli Supreme Court endorsed the IDF position regarding an area of in which 12 Palestinian villages are sited, paving the way for the expulsion of 1,000 residents, which would be the largest deportation since the 1970s. said "settlement expansion, demolitions, and evictions are illegal under international law", and that setting up a firing zone is not an "imperative military reason" for transfer of an occupied population. Once demolitions got underway, one family in one of the affected villages, Khirbet al-Fakhit, cleared out space in a cavern for themselves and their livestock to tide them over winter. The homes of 80 people in Khallet Athaba were scheduled to be bulldozed on 29 September 2022. On 2 January 2023,
B'Tselem described the expulsions as a "fast-track war crime". ==In Nakba scholarship==