Driving south from Bethlehem to Hebron on Route 60, a main settler road in the Occupied West Bank, is Beit al-Baraka, an old church compound made up of eight buildings built from Jerusalem yellow stone. It sits just to the north of Al Arroub refugee camp and for many years it existed as the site of a Presbyterian mission, first as a hospital and later as a hostel. But now its ownership is being questioned, following allegations that it has been sold to right-wing settlers.

Haaretz published last Friday that the site had been sold to Aryeh King, who was renovating the site in anticipation of moving settlers into it. When we visited Beit al-Baraka we found this consistently denied in the area, however investigations show the extent toBank from custodian of the land (following the Oslo Accords which envisioned a period of gradual transferal of power to the Palestinians) to one of de facto sovereign power.

Currently only one settlement – Tzar Karmei – exists (amongst many Palestinian towns and villages) between the Etzion Bloc, a collection of settlements south of Jerusalem, and Hebron in the southern West Bank, where settlers are present inside the city. Acquisition of the Beit al-Baraka site would enable the further connection of settlements between the Etzion Bloc and Hebron, extending settler control over the southern part of the West Bank.

A visit to Beit al-Baraka

As we approached the newly built perimeter fence which now encircles the compound, we were met by a resident worker, whose family has lived and worked on