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Eliyahu, son of the Hebron massacre perpetrator, leads West Bank settlement expansion

Israeli settlers in the hills around Hebron [Mosab Shawer / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images]

By Malik Nabeel | The New Arab | July 31, 2026

Ramallah – The family of Palestinian Hussein al-Amleh in the town of Beit Ula, west of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, was expelled from his land on 22 July after a settler vandalised a tent and sheep pen where al-Amleh and his son were staying. The incident took place as part of the expansion of a settlement outpost established a few metres west of the town about a year ago.

Its area of control has expanded to more than 1,300 dunams (1.3 square kilometres), designated as a “closed military zone” from which the original Palestinian landowners have been barred.

As one of the owners of the confiscated land, al-Amleh said that a settler named Eliyahu Goldstein, son of Baruch Goldstein, who carried out the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre that left 29 people dead and 125 others injured, drove them from the land after storming it.

Al-Amleh told The New Arab, “We tried to remove the settler and those with him, and demanded that they leave when they stormed the land… There were verbal confrontations between us, after which Eliyahu attacked and assaulted us. He was armed, while the Israeli occupation army stood by without moving or doing anything.”

He said he told soldiers that they were responsible for him, to which the army officer replied that al-Amleh had to listen to Eliyahu and follow his instructions. The answer prompted al-Amleh to reply, “This is our land. We were born here, and our children and grandparents were born here.”

Since 22 July, 2025, Baruch Goldstein’s son Eliyahu has expanded the seizure of land in Beit Ula. He has placed a caravan there, from which he launches daily attacks, detains landowners and hands them over to the Israeli occupation army for interrogation, as happened with two other residents following the incident involving the Al-Amleh family.

During the assault, Eliyahu detained al-Amleh’s son, Mahmoud, and took him to a military post adjacent to the separation wall west of the town before handing him over to the Israeli occupation army. Mahmoud was then transferred to the Etzion interrogation centre north of Hebron.

“All of this happened simply because my son and I refused to leave our land,” al-Amleh told The New Arab.

He added that he owns dozens of dunams in the western area of Beit Ula, which Eliyahu has since taken control of, and had relied on them for farming, grazing and overnight stays. He had erected a tent there and established a small sheep farm known as an “izba”. However, according to his account, the settler vandalised it, prevented him from grazing his livestock, and threatened to shoot him and confiscate the sheep if he returned to the land.

Eliyahu is described by Palestinian residents as one of the most extremist and violent settlers in the greater Hebron area, with accounts alleging that he does not hesitate to open fire if anyone approaches him.

At the beginning of April, Eliyahu shot Iyad Al-Sarahin in the abdomen, causing severe intestinal damage and injury to his liver. During the same period, he also shot another person in the hand while residents were attempting to reach their land.

Jamal Taleb, an adviser at the Land Research Centre in Beit Ula, told The New Arab, “Eliyahu was raised in schools of Jewish extremism, just like his father.”

Taleb said Eliyahu began his settlement activities in areas east of Hebron and its Old City before “moving last year to Beit Ula, which had never previously witnessed any settlement presence on its land”.

Taleb pointed to the relationship between Eliyahu and the Israeli forces, saying, “On more than one occasion, we have seen officers in the Israeli occupation army salute him militarily, even though he is not a soldier.”

He added that Eliyahu works to “steal sheep and then claim ownership of them. His primary task is to destroy agricultural land, ruin farming and force residents to abandon and leave their land.“

Taleb added that the settler relies on foreign workers to carry out his attacks, saying, “He has Thai workers who work with him. He uses them to pursue residents with agricultural tractors, and they move in a provocative manner to stir up dust while farmers are on their land. He is then accompanied by one settler, who acts as his assistant.”

Eliyahu also appears to enjoy official backing from the Israeli government. Taleb said he is “strongly supported by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, to the extent that no one dares oppose him or refuse his requests”.

Taleb also said that Eliyahu repeatedly tells residents, “Your turn will come. I will seize this land, and one day we will expel all of you from Areas B and C,” referring to the areas designated under the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Taleb confirmed that Eliyahu possesses the key to the gate in the separation wall that separates Beit Ula from the territories occupied in 1948. He uses it to travel to the settlement of Nahusha, built on the town’s historic lands beyond the wall.

Taleb cited an incident on 11 July, when activists from the Arab-Jewish movement “There Is Room for All of Us” arrived to accompany residents to their land for the harvest. He said they had received prior approval from the Israeli occupation army, “but Eliyahu arrived at the site accompanied by occupation forces, expelled the residents and the solidarity activists, and the forces fired tear gas on his orders.”

He added that Eliyahu had previously set fire to farmers’ land while they were attempting to reach it.

Eliyahu also uses drones to monitor farmers’ movements and rarely moves without covering his face. “Experts stand behind him, providing support and assistance, even if they are not present at the site.”

Taleb said Eliyahu possesses “all the machinery and equipment necessary to carry out acts of destruction, bulldozing, cutting and other operations.”

Eliyahu is known for not remaining in one place, instead moving between different areas to establish new settlement projects.

Taleb described him as “highly aggressive”. He previously lived in the settlements of Kiryat Arba east of Hebron, Susiya to the south and Adora to the west. He is also active in the northern Jordan Valley.

Taleb said Eliyahu “only establishes settlement outposts in cultivated, exploited areas adjacent to the boundaries of Area B because one of his objectives is to expand settlement gradually from Area C into Area B. In contrast, we are pursuing a legal path to prove ownership of lands whose Palestinian ownership the occupation does not recognise.”

Meanwhile, Issa Abdul Hafiz, one of the owners of the land seized by Eliyahu, said the settler has prevented him from accessing more than 40 dunams (40,000 square metres) that he owns, in addition to hundreds of dunams belonging to his family.

Abdul Hafiz told The New Arab that “the settler Eliyahu has escalated his attacks in recent months, destroying more than 150 olive trees and other fruit-bearing trees, and preventing family members from grazing their sheep on their own land”, stressing that this pattern of attacks has affected hundreds of dunams, all treated in the same way.

Abdul Hafiz said the settlement expansion extends beyond the outpost established by Eliyahu, explaining that “he expands his settlement activities every day, goes beyond the boundaries of the area classified as a ‘closed military zone’, and attacks any farmer who reaches his land.”

He confirmed that Eliyahu’s attacks have extended to the outskirts of the neighbouring villages of Kharas and Nuba, adjacent to Beit Ula.

Abdul Hafiz also said that the Israeli settler burned hundreds of dunams planted with wheat, driving his agricultural tractor through the area and setting fires between the fields over recent weeks.

From the Ibrahimi Mosque to settlement expansion

Rashed Al-Tamimi, a former activist with the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, recalled an earlier encounter with Eliyahu dating back about 13 years, when he established a settlement outpost in the Jabal Jalis area east of Hebron after forcibly seizing a plot of land there.

Al-Tamimi told The New Arab, “Eliyahu set up a caravan, brought settler Jewish families to it and established their presence there. The outpost now includes around 20 settlement homes.”

Al-Tamimi described Eliyahu as “an expert in establishing settlement outposts”, explaining that he moves between Palestinian areas to create new outposts “without any justification, or even a legal cover, using excessive force through carrying weapons, opening fire, and relying on protection from the Israeli occupation army. He establishes the outpost, gives it legitimacy, hands it over to settlers, and then leaves the area for another one.”

Al-Tamimi also recalled another incident from about five years ago, when Eliyahu attempted to establish a settlement outpost on his privately owned land in Jabal Jalis.

He said, “Eliyahu came to our area in Jabal Jalis and tried to establish a settlement outpost on my private land. When he stormed my land, my son and I rushed out, confronted him, argued with him and prevented him from establishing the outpost. He then filed a complaint against me with the Israeli police in the Ja’abra area, east of Hebron.”

Al-Tamimi said Eliyahu received support from settlement organisations, including “Kach” and “Gush Emunim”, which did not condemn the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre.

He added that the settler has carried weapons during his movements for years, but “he used to wear civilian clothes. Recently, however, he moves only in military uniform, despite not being a soldier.”

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Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.

August 3, 2026 - Posted by aletho | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | Human rights, Israel, Israeli settlement, Palestine, Zionism