Illegal Settler Outpost Established on Private Palestinian Land in Majd al-Krum in the Galilee Removed

On 15 September 2026, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel drafted two letters addressing the establishment of an illegal settler outpost on land in Majd al-Krum, an Arab town in the Galilee, northern Israel. The letters were drafted on behalf of and sent directly by the head of the Majd al-Krum Local Council to the Regional Planning and Building Committee – Beit HaKerem Valley, and to Yehuda Eliyahu, Acting Director of the Israel Land Authority (ILA), and the Northern District Enforcement Unit of the Land Enforcement Authority.

The outpost was established in recent days by a group of Jewish citizens on land in the A-Rus area, within the jurisdiction of the Majd al-Krum Local Council. According to land registry records, the approximately 8.7-dunam plot is under mixed ownership, with 50% privately owned by residents of Majd al-Krum and the remainder owned by the Development Authority.

The settlers reportedly placed cars, tents, a sheep pen, water tanks, and flags at the site, levelled the land using a bulldozer, and connected the outpost to electricity and water. They stated that they had come from settlements in the West Bank with the aim of establishing a settlement in the Galilee.

The attempt to establish the outpost prompted residents of Majd al-Krum, as well as activists and groups, all Palestinian citizens of Israel, to mobilize and launch a broad protest movement opposing the encroachment.

The letters warned that the establishment of the outpost directly infringes the constitutional right to property of Majd al-Krum residents, as half of the plot is privately owned by local residents and a police complaint has been filed concerning the encroachment; obstructs the town’s future development; and constitutes an unlawful seizure of public land. The letters stated that the construction and use of the site were unlawful under planning and building legislation, and that the existing planning status does not permit the construction carried out at the site.

The letters also addressed claims that the outpost’s founders had received authorization from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to establish the site for grazing. They stated that such authorization has no legal validity, including because the land is partially privately owned by Majd al-Krum residents and because the JNF is not the public body authorized by law to grant rights for planning residential or agricultural structures on the site. Additionally, the JNF stated that the outpost’s founders had not received authorization to establish structures or place tents to create a “farm for youth accommodation,” as they had explicitly declared. Thus, any grazing authorization ostensibly granted by the JNF is invalid.

The letters further referred to the Regulation of Residential Structures in Grazing Areas Law, 2025, arguing that the land does not constitute Israel Lands allocated by the Israel Land Authority for grazing, land for which there is a valid grazing authorization, or an area defined in a plan prepared by the Israel Land Authority and approved for allocation for grazing.

The council argued that the provocative conduct of the outpost’s founders leaves no room for doubt regarding their intention to settle the area unlawfully; they even went so far as to declare that the land is “theirs, forever.” Public statements by Members of Knesset and government ministers further indicate that the outpost is part of a settlement initiative aimed at seizing land and altering the demographic balance in the Galilee through the establishment of communities and farms. The council stated that the volatile situation created by the outpost’s founders gives rise to a genuine concern regarding threats to public safety and security. The situation is reminiscent of settlers taking over land and establishing outposts in the West Bank under false pretenses.

The Majd al-Krum Local Council requested that the planning authorities immediately exercise their enforcement powers under the Planning and Building Law, including issuing orders to stop the illegal construction and unlawful use, issuing demolition orders against the structures established at the site, prohibiting the use of vehicles or engineering equipment, and imposing administrative fines on those responsible.

Additionally, the council requested that the relevant authorities immediately exercise their powers under the Public Lands Law (Eviction of Land), 1981, to remove and evict the outpost’s founders. Among other measures, it requested that the head of the local council and its legal adviser be authorized to exercise the powers granted under the law to the Director of the Israel Land Authority; alternatively, that an inspector be appointed immediately and an order issued for the removal and eviction from the public land. The council further requested that all available enforcement measures be taken to stop the use of the land, remove the outpost, and prevent the establishment of new outposts in the area.

Following the legal intervention, and amid public outrage and pressure, the JNF announced on 15 September that it would evacuate the outpost. The caravans, the outpost, and the settlers were subsequently removed from the location in the following days.