The people of Asira al-Qibliya, a small town south of Nablus, are watching their land and livelihoods slip away after settlers established a new pastoral outpost earlier in August. The move threatens farmland, water sources, and family income, adding to decades of dispossession tied to the expansion of the nearby Yitzhar settlement. More than 3,000 dunams have already been seized, and villagers fear the latest encroachment will cost them what little remains.

Central to their anxiety is the town’s main water reservoir, which supplies hundreds of families. Its takeover would deprive the entire community of drinking water, compounding the hardship caused by restricted access to olive groves, destroyed crops, and daily harassment. Residents describe a life hemmed in by grazing flocks deliberately driven into their orchards, blocked roads, confiscated equipment, and threats that have forced stone quarries, long a key source of local income, to shut down.

With the olive harvest season approaching, fears are mounting that violence will intensify. Farmers say they expect one of the worst years yet, not because of poor weather, but because of the settlers’ presence, which will prevent them from reaching their groves. Families who depend on this harvest to survive, educate their children, or build homes now face the prospect of being cut off from their only means of income.

Stone quarry workers echo the same despair. For years, these sites sustained almost half of the town’s population, but a wave of attacks has left them idle, stripping dozens of families of their livelihoods. Workers recount beatings, threats, and the constant risk of assault, leaving many too afraid to return. Future projects have also been abandoned, silencing hopes of economic stability.

Pastoral outposts are emerging as one of the most aggressive tools of settlement expansion, particularly in rural areas. They establish a new reality by force, later formalised with infrastructure and recognition. For the 3,900 residents of Asira al-Qibliya, this reality means living under siege, where the simple acts of farming, harvesting olives, or drawing water have become battlegrounds for survival.