J Street's opposition to history in Masafer Yatta

University of Miami’s J Street U chapter recently shared an Instagram post about Masafer Yatta, a region in Area C of the West Bank. 

The group’s post promotes the narrative that the Israeli government is “carrying out a mass eviction of Palestinian communities” in Masafer Yatta, a campaign that J Street National began promoting heavily this January. However, this campaign is founded upon baseless claims that paint Israel in a malicious manner and overlook the history that proves J Street’s statements inaccurate. Although J Street labels itself “the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans,” its actions say otherwise.

Masafer Yatta is an area in the South Hebron hills; a desert with very rough terrain, the territory lacks water and arable land. The land, being within Area C of the West Bank, is under full control by Israel as set forth by the Oslo Accords.

While the region was only designated a firing zone (land designated for military use by the Israel Defense Forces) in the early 1980s by then-agriculture minister (and later prime minister) Ariel Sharon, a thorough investigation by the Israeli High Court of Justice maintains that no permanent settlements existed prior to the rezoning of the area for military operations. Like all state lands classified as being for military use, there was no settlement of any sort in Masafer Yatta; this implies that there were no private properties or historic villages in the area. 

Furthermore, advocacy organization Freedom House states, “[Israel’s] Supreme Court has historically played a crucial role in protecting minority groups and overturning decisions by the government and the parliament when they threaten human rights.”

Evidence presented to corroborate this includes aerial photography provided by the IDF and an ethnographic study conducted by Israeli anthropologist Yaakov Havakook, who concluded that no permanent dwellings existed in the region. 

The fact stands: All state land designated for military use, including Masafer Yatta, featured no permanent settlements in over a century, even under Jordanian occupation and Ottoman rule.

Such evidence disproves the claim levied by Palestinians, in which they contended that their claim to the land came before the IDF’s. However, the Palestinians interestingly only began taking legal action in 1997 — over 17 years after the alleged displacement from their homes began. 

While it’s true that some Arabs keep a nomadic lifestyle and may use land seasonally or for agricultural purposes, this does not preclude the Israeli government from rezoning areas under military jurisdiction. As a result, it does not constitute an illegal eviction as University of Miami’s J Street implies in their post. 

Before the court ruling, Palestinians turned down an offer that would allow them to cultivate the land and herd livestock there on weekends and Jewish holidays, when the army doesn’t conduct drills.

J Street also omits the fact that many of these Palestinian “residents” have permanent homes in the nearby village of Yatta as well as other villages. During the Mandate-era, Yatta, Hebron Bani Naim, and other villages were actual settlements while maps show that Masafer Yatta was desolate. These villages originated when shepherds of Yatta would sleep in caves in nearby areas instead of making the journey back to the village every night. After the IDF closed off the area, the shepherds were allowed to continue grazing their flocks there. The IDF issued a few days’ warning before live-fire training to prevent anyone from being in danger.

Thus, the claim that the Israeli government is instituting an unlawful eviction of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta is a gravely misleading account.

J Street at UM should present situations with accurate information and sufficient context. UM students deserve much better. If students are interested in hearing the truth when it comes to the Israeli-Arab conflict, they should find reputable sources on and off campus such as Students Supporting Israel and CAMERA.

 UM’s Chapter of J Street declined a request for comment.

Alexandra Berman is a 2022-2023 Fellow for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis.