Jinba
Jinba
جنبا (Arabic) | |
|---|---|
Village / hamlet | |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Hebron Governorate |
| Area | Masafer Yatta |
| Population | |
• Total | ~150–300 (2,022–2,025 est.) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (UTC+3 DST) |
Jinba (Arabic: جنبا) is a small Palestinian hamlet located in the south-western corner of Masafer Yatta in the Hebron Governorate, in the southern West Bank. It is administered under Palestinian local frameworks but lies within Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli civil and military control. The hamlet faces chronic challenges related to displacement, loss of infrastructure, and settler-related violence.[1]
History and archaeology
[edit]
The Masafer region is called after the Arabic words for 'traveling.'[2] The 2024 documentary film No Other Land, winner of the Best Documentary Oscar, focuses on Jinba in Masafer Yatta.
Jinba was first settled by families from Yatta in the early 19th century, according to local testimonies. The area encompasses caves and terraced fields that local scholars and residents identify as part of longstanding seasonal and permanent habitation.Geographer Natan Shalem noted that Jinba included cave dwellings and flint tools from ancient periods. These suggest a continuity of human presence, though no formal excavations have been reported.[3]
In the British Mandate Period, Jinba's residents relied on a mixed agrarian economy of animal husbandry, orchard cultivation and field crops.
Legal-administrative context
[edit]
Since 1967, Masafer Yatta—including Jinba—has fallen within Israel’s declared Firing Zone 918, allowing routine demolitions and displacement under the Israeli military framework.[4] A 2022 Israeli Supreme Court ruling upheld eviction orders affecting eight penalized hamlets in Masafer Yatta, potentially impacting over 1,000 residents.[citation needed]
Jinba’s residents frequently face demolition orders for homes, cisterns, and solar units due to the difficulty of obtaining Israeli-issued building permits. Many inhabitants rely on temporary structures and community cisterns.[5]
Depopulation and settler attacks
[edit]
Between the 1980s and present, Jinba has experienced repeated displacement pressures — including home demolitions, water-point destruction, and restrictions on grazing lands.[citation needed]
In early 2025, residents documented multiple settler and military raids:
- Dozens of settlers, sometimes accompanied by Israeli forces, raided Jinba, injuring villagers—including children—and ransacking homes and solar installations.[6]
- Structures were vandalized during night raids; cameras and school-related infrastructure were destroyed.[7]
- Israeli forces arrested over 20 Palestinians, while no settlers were detained; several Palestinians were hospitalized with skull fractures and chest injuries.
On March 28, 2025 a mob composed of settler militiamen and IDF troops assaulted Jinba, pillaging its houses, and attacking its inhabitants. One survivor narrated,
“They carried hammers and smashed everything: houses, furniture, kitchens, refrigerators, and washing machines. They left nothing intact. They forced us to sit outside in terrible weather, from 1 a.m. until 6:30 a.m. When we returned, we saw they had slashed the women’s clothes with knives.” — Musa Jabrin Rabi’, resident of Jinba.[8]
The incident drew international condemnation, and forced the IDF spokesperson to issue a statement acknowledging that "troops vandalized and damaged equipment on-site [...] Additionally, the troops failed to report the irregular activity, which was only discovered through footage circulated on social media." The internal IDF audit focused on administrative, command and control questions, and not on the damage inflicted on the Palestinian civilians. No compensation was offered, and the army threatened "to continue operating resolutely to maintain security in the area," hinting at future raids against civilian targets in the area.[9]
The increasing persecution, harassment and violence have compelled many families to leave Jinba—a process NGOs described as ethnic cleansing.[10][11][12]
Population and livelihoods
[edit]Local inhabitants are sedentary farmers, numbering approximately 150–300 in recent years.[citation needed] They speak Arabic and maintain livelihoods based on goat herding, olive cultivation, and grazing. Dependence on water tankers, solar panels, and community cisterns is common due to limited infrastructure access.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Jinba Background – Living Archive". living-archive.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ At Tuwani &Mosfaret Yatta Profile. Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ). 2009.
- ^ Adler, Jonathan (2025-04-02). "Israeli settlers attacked Jinba — then came back in army uniform". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2013-07-05/ty-article/.premium/tiny-wb-village-to-be-huge-army-training-zone/0000017f-db6c-d856-a37f-ffecdb870000
- ^ Adler, Jonathan (2025-04-02). "Israeli settlers attacked Jinba — then came back in army uniform". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ Adler, Jonathan (2025-04-02). "Israeli settlers attacked Jinba — then came back in army uniform". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "A tale of two attacks: Masafer Yatta when the cameras aren't rolling". Mondoweiss. 2025-04-14. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ Adler, Jonathan (2025-04-02). "Israeli settlers attacked Jinba — then came back in army uniform". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
- ^ www.idf.il https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/idf-press-releases-israel-at-war/march-25-pr/summary-of-the-inquiry-on-the-vandalism-during-the-operation-in-jinba/. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ ""Israel is Implementing Practices of Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians" | Faces of the Occupation | Looking the Occupation in the Eye". www.mistaclim.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta: a focus on Susiya". Home. 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
- ^ "Breaking the Silence › Testimony › The village was turned upside down". Breaking the Silence. Retrieved 2025-06-14.