Khirbet Bīr al-ʿIdd (Arabic: بير العدّ, also: Bir al-Idd, Bir el-ʿEid) 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. Like other Masafer Yatta localities, it lies in Area C; much of the surrounding area has been designated Firing Zone 918 since the 1980s.[1] In October 2023, the UN reported that the hamlet had stood empty since March 2023 following the displacement of its last two families amid rising settler violence.[2]
Khirbet Bīr al-ʿIdd
بير العدّ Bir al-Idd; Bir el-ʿEid; Bir el-Idd; Bir al-ʿAdd | |
|---|---|
Hamlet | |
  Khirbet Bīr al-ʿIdd Location within the West Bank, Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°22′32″N 35°07′56″E / 31.37547°N 35.13209°E | |
| State | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Hebron Governorate |
| Area | Masafer Yatta |
| Elevation | 848 m (2,782 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 |
Geography
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Bīr al-ʿIdd stands at about 848 metres above sea level at approximately 31.37547°N, 35.13209°E.[3] It lies east of Yatta, near Khirbet at-Tuwāmin and the outpost of Mitzpe Yair, within the dispersed cave-dwelling and herding landscape that comprises Masafer Yatta.[1][4]
History and archaeology
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Nineteenth-century surveyors of the Palestine Exploration Fund recorded Kh. Bîr el ʿEdd, noting ruins and a cistern; the toponym was glossed as “the perennial well.”[5][6] The broader Masafer Yatta landscape (Arabic masāfer, “travelling”) has long supported semi-sedentary pastoralism with cave-adapted dwelling.[1]
In the early 2000s, residents were displaced amid settler harassment; after a legal campaign assisted by Israeli NGOs, families returned in 2009, though pressures and demolitions persisted.[7][8][9][10]
Legal–administrative context
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Following the June 1967 war, the area came under Israeli occupation and was later included in Area C. In the 1980s, large parts of Masafer Yatta were declared Firing Zone 918, restricting civilian construction, service connections and access to land.[1] In May 2022, the Supreme Court of Israel dismissed petitions against expulsion within the firing zone, a decision widely criticized by legal scholars and human-rights groups.[11] In 2023 the UN reported Bir al-ʿIdd became one of several West Bank communities emptied following escalated settler violence.[2]
Access and services
edit- Road access: The hamlet is reached by unpaved agricultural tracks between nearby hamlets and outposts; humanitarian sources describe recurrent access constraints typical of firing-zone localities.[1]
- Water and power: Households rely on rain-fed cisterns and trucked water; electricity is typically provided by small solar arrays.[1]
- Local planning and structures: Bimkom notes mixed tenure (private/lease), a community-initiated plan that did not advance, and structures including tents, tin shacks and stone rooms.[4]
Bir al-Idd, Masafer Yatta, residential building
Population and livelihoods
editThe Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) recorded **119** residents in 2007 and **135** in 2017 for Khirbet Bir al-ʿIdd.[12] A Palestinian government spatial-plans brief listed **45** residents in 2013.[13] In October 2023, UN OCHA reported the hamlet had stood empty since March 2023.[2] Families traditionally rely on mixed herding (goats and sheep), dryland farming and seasonal grazing, consistent with regional patterns.[1]
Notable incidents
edit- 5 May 2022: B’Tselem documented settlers using threats, dogs and crop theft to drive a shepherd off his land near Bir al-ʿIdd.[14]
- 18 January 2023: OCHA reported two Palestinian herders injured and livestock attacked by settlers near the community.[15]
- 28 May 2023: B’Tselem reported windows smashed in a structure belonging to a Bir al-ʿIdd resident.[16]
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Fact sheet: Masafer Yatta communities at risk of forcible transfer" (PDF). UN OCHA. June 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Thirteen Palestinian families displaced from Masafer Yatta". UN OCHA. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Khirbat Bīr al 'Idd". GeoNames. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
31.37547, 35.13209; elevation ~848 m; population 117
- ^ a b "Khirbet Bir al 'Idd". Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "An Index to the Survey of Western Palestine" (PDF). PEF / BiblePlaces.com (1888 index; PDF). Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists. Committee of the PEF. p. 433. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "The South Hebron Hills (booklet)" (PDF). Breaking the Silence. 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "The South Hebron Hills (2019 update)" (PDF). Breaking the Silence. 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "In Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights address painful paradoxes". openDemocracy. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Khirbet Bir al-'Eid, Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills". B’Tselem. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ Ben-Naftali, Orna; Diamond, Eitan (2023). "No Place for Palestinians: The 2022 Judgment on Masafer Yatta" (PDF). Israel Law Review (BU ILJ preprint). Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "West Bank – localities (PCBS data)". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Spatial Plans for Palestinian Communities in Area C" (PDF). Palestinian Ministry of Local Government. 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Khirbet Bir al-'Eid: settlers drive shepherd out using threats & dogs". B’Tselem. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Protection of Civilians Report, 10–30 Jan 2023". UN OCHA. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Bir al-'Eid: settlers shatter four windows in resident's structure". B’Tselem. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025.