Facing Expulsion

On 10 Sept 2020, four days after the beginning of the school year, in the early morning hours before students arrived, Civil Administration personnel came with a military and Border Police escort and a crane truck to the Palestinian community of Ras al-Tin, east of Ramallah. The forces confiscated tin panels from the school’s roof, 30 chairs and 12 classroom tables.

The students were forced to study under the scorching sun as they sat on the ground.

Just a week ago, on 3 September 2020, the Civil Administration confiscated ten tin panels, four cinder block pallets, 30 classroom chairs and 12 tables. On 31 August 2020, they confiscated building materials intended for further construction of the school.

On 2 Sept 2020, around 8:30 A.M., Civil Administration officials came with a Border Police escort, a bulldozer and a digger to the area of Wadi al-A'war by the community of Birin, which lies northeast of the town of Yatta. The forces demolished a room belonging to a resident of Hebron that farmers from the community use.


The forces continued south to the village of Zif, where they confiscated a gas pump and a canopy tent.

From there, they went south to Khirbet Jenbah, a community in Masafer Yatta included within 'Firing Zone 918' in the South Hebron Hills. They demolished two homes used by two families in the community – 12 people, eight of them children – and a livestock pen. The forces also destroyed four solar panels and electrical equipment, leaving the family with no power source.

On Monday morning, 31 August 2020, at around 7:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military jeep escort and a crane truck at the Palestinian community of Ras a-Tin, which lies to the east of the village of Kafr Malek,  east of Ramallah. The forces confiscated two cinderblock pallets and other materials donated by a humanitarian aid organization to build a local school. The school was meant to serve 50 children from the community and others from the neighboring community of Khirbet ‘Ein al-Rashash.

The community of 280 – made up of 35 families, including 140 minors – is not hooked up to a water network or power grids. Only 12 families have electricity, thanks to solar panels they either purchased or received from Palestinian aid organizations. Residents buy water in containers from nearby villages. About 50 of the children study in the village of al-Mughayir and have to travel one to three kilometers on dirt paths, on ATVs or animals, to get there.

On Tuesday, 25 August 2020, at around 4:30 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with an escort of Border Police, soldiers, a crane truck and a digger to the Palestinian community of Wadi a-Siq, east of Ramallah. The forces dismantled and confiscated two tents that were home to a family of ten, including a child, and demolished a shack that was home to a family of 13, eight of them minors. They also dismantled and confiscated a livestock pen and the fences around it, four shacks used as livestock enclosures, two solar panels and two water containers. The structures belonged to the two families whose homes were demolished and to two other families.

At around 8:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with military jeeps and a crane truck to the area of al-Musafah, east of al-Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley. The forces confiscated a fuel tank and a pump belonging to a resident of Jerusalem.  

At around 11:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with military jeeps and a crane truck to the area of Ras 'Ein al-‘Auja in Jericho District. The forces dismantled and confiscated a shack made of tin and metal that was being built to house a family of ten, eight of them minors.

At around 1:00 P.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a bulldozer and military jeeps to the area of Fasayil al-Wusta in the northern Jordan Valley. There, they demolished two tents that were home to two families numbering seven people in total, two of them minors. They also demolished two shacks belonging to the families, which served as livestock pens, as well as two tents used as kitchens, one tent used as a toilet and two storage tents.

On Tuesday, 11 August 2020, at around 7:00 A.M, Civil Administration personnel came with an escort of Border Police jeeps, a crane truck and a digger to Khirbet Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. The forces demolished a tent used for agricultural purposes owned by a resident and confiscated a small cement mixer and a cart intended for building a structure. The forces then continued to the area of Masafer Yatta, where they first went to Khirbet al-Mufaqarah. Upon the forces' arrival, the residents dismantled the tent they had erected a week earlier. From there, the forces continued to the community of Maghayir al-‘Abid, where they demolished a tent that served as a livestock pen. Then, they continued south to Khirbet al-Fakhit and demolished a residential tent, leaving seven people, three of them minors, homeless. The tent was donated by the EU after the CA had demolished the same family’s tent two months earlier.

On Thursday, 6 August 2020, at around 6:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a Border Police escort and a bulldozer to Khirbet Wadi Ejheish, south of Khirbet Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. The forces demolished a family's home, leaving 10 people, including 8 minors, homeless.

This morning, Tuesday, 4 August 2020, at around 6:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military jeep escort, a crane and a truck at the community of al-Muntar in al-Quds District, southeast of the town of al-'Eizariyah. The forces demolished the homes of six families, leaving at least 26 people, including 14 minors, homeless. They also demolished a shack that served as a livestock enclosure and a water tank.

On Tuseday, 21 June 2020, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with an escort of soldiers, Border Police officers and a bulldozer at Khirbet Birin, northeast of the town of Yatta. The forces demolished a home under construction intended for a family of seven people, five of them minors. The demolition was carried out by power of military order 1797. Last month, the Civil Administration confiscated a cinder block pallet belonging to the same family.

On Thursday, 16 June 2020, at around 8:30 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with an escort of Border Police officers, soldiers and a crane truck at Khirbet Lasefar in the South Hebron Hills. The forces dismantled and confiscated a metal-plate structure that served as a home for a family of 25 people, six of them minors.

On Wednesday, 8 July 2020, at around 8:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with an escort of Israel Police, Border Police officers, soldiers and a crane truck at the Abu a-Nuwar community, southeast of the town of al ‘Eizariyah, in an area Israel defines as E1. The forces dismantled and confiscated a wooden and metal structure under construction intended as a couple’s home.

Later on, at around 10:00 A.M., the forces arrived at the community of Abu al-Hilu, in the Khan al-Ahmar area, east of Jerusalem. There, they confiscated a shack intended as a couple’s living quarters. In addition, they confiscated a solar power system belonging to the family which included four solar panels. The solar system was constructed and maintained by the NGO COMET-ME with funding from the European Union.

On Thursday morning, 2 June 2020, at around 10:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military jeep escort and a bulldozer at the seasonal encampment of a Palestinian community in Wadi a-Ras al-Ahmar, north of the village of Fayasil a-Tahta in the Jordan Valley. The force demolished seven tents used as seasonal homes by five families totaling 34 people, including 14 minors. The force also demolished eight tents and a shack that served as livestock pens, three livestock enclosures, four tents used as kitchens, and two tin restrooms. The families live on site from October to May and are currently living in another area in the Jordan Valley.