Facing Expulsion

On Monday, 22 February 2021, at around 9:00 AM, Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to the community of Khirbet Humsah al-Foqa in the northern Jordan Valley, where Israel has destroyed structures five times in the past few months, most recently on Feb. 16 2020. The forces dismantled and confiscated 12 tents that housed families numbering a total of 74 people, including 41 minors, as well as four tents used as livestock pens. The forces also destroyed six livestock enclosures and confiscated four water tank trailers and an additional four plastic water tanks. The forces also confiscated four unbuilt tents, two of which were set to be used for housing and two for livestock.

The tents and other items were donated to families in the community by the ICRC, the Consortium and the Ministry against the Fence and Settlements in the Palestinian Authority last week.

On Sunday morning, 14 February 2021, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to Khirbet Beit ‘Einun in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces blocked the entrances to the community and uprooted some 300 forest tree seedlings that activists and Tubas council workers had planted after Israeli security forces uprooted and cut down more than 3,000 trees in the area on 27 January 2021.

Later that day, at around 2:00 P.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to the community of Khirbet Humsah al-Foqa, where Israel has demolished structures four times, starting with the demolition of the community on 3 November 2020. The forces roamed among the tents set up after the latest demolition on 8 February and threatened the residents they would soon return to demolish their homes.

On Tuesday, 16 February 2021, at around 11:00 A.M., military jeeps arrived at the community during a visit by diplomats from France, the UK and Poland who had brought with them equipment donated by the West Bank Protection Consortium. The forces confiscated two tents the residents had managed to erect and three tents they had not yet pitched.

On Monday, 8 February 2021, at around 11:30 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came for the fourth time with a military escort, a digger and a crane truck to the community of Khirbet Humsah al-Fouqa in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces declared the community a closed military zone and dismantled nine tents that serves as the homes of 11 families numbering 61 people, including 33 minors. The tents were donated to the community last week by the Red Cross. The forces dismantled and confiscated 12 additional structures, including shade sails, shacks used for storage, and a water container. They also demolished five livestock enclosures. The shacks and enclosures were donated to the community by the Palestinian Authority’s National Commission agianst the Wall and the Settlements.

In addition, the forces confiscated three vehicles that do not belong to the community: a tractor owned by the local council, a vehicle owned by the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation, and another vehicle owned by the National Commission against the Wall and the Settlements.

On 3 February 2021, two days after the last demolitions, at around 8:00 A.M., four Civil Administration vehicles arrived with an escort of some 30 Border Police officers and soldiers, bulldozers, buggers, and crane trucks at the community of Khirbet Humsah al-Fouqa. The forces demolished seven residential tents that served nine families, numbering 61 people, including 33 minors, five tents and two shacks that served as livestock enclosures, and three livestock pens. The forces also confiscated four portable toilets, three dismantled tents, and demolished two portable toilets and two tents that served as Tabun ovens. In addition, they confiscated one vehicle owned by a Palestinian human rights activist and another by the Palestinian Authority's National Commission against the Wall and the Settlements. Towards the end of the incident, clashes ensued between residents and the Israeli forces, and a soldier was injured lightly by a stone. The soldiers and Border Police did not open fire.

At around 6:00 P.M., the forces returned to the community and confiscated nine tents, six of which were dismantled, and disassembled barbed wire fences. The forces also confiscated two vehicles belonging to the Palestinian Authority's National Commission against the Wall and the Settlements and detained several residents and activists for about two hours.

On Monday, 1 February 2021, Israeli forces confiscated most of the residential structures and livestock pens in the community of Khirbet Humsah. The community was already demolished on 3 November 2020, while the world was focused on the US elections. Yesterday, the Civil Administration dismantled and confiscated the following equipment: Thirteen tents that were home to 11 families, numbering 74 members, including 41 minors; two of the families had relocated temporarily to the Furush Beit Dajan area after their homes were demolished in November 2020. Five shacks, one not yet built, and eight tents, all used for livestock.

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On 3 November 2020, at around 11:00 A.M., the Civil Administration came with a military escort, two bulldozers and two diggers to the community of Khirbet Humsah in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces demolished 18 tents and sheds that housed 11 families, numbering 74 people in total, 41 of them minors. The forces also demolished 29 tents and sheds used as livestock enclosures, three storage sheds, nine tents used as kitchens, 10 portable toilets, 10 livestock pens, 23 water containers, two solar panels, and feeding and watering troughs for livestock. They also destroyed more than 30 tons of fodder for livestock and confiscated a vehicle and two tractors belonging to three residents.

This week, again, on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday Civil Administration officials again came with a military jeep escort to Khirbet Humsah in the northern Jordan Valley and ordered the 15 families to vacate their homes pursuant to orders handed out in the community on 8 May 2019. This is the fourth week the families have been temporarily displaced, and the orders were carried out despite the heavy heat in the area, the Ramadan fast and the celebration of 'Eid al-Fitr as of Wednesday. Some of the families left on tractors harnessed to carts or in other vehicles, and others went on foot. On Wednesday morning, when 'Eid al-Fitr began, the forces came to the community at 5:00 A.M., two hours before the time stated in the order, and forced the families to leave unprepared. At 10:30, the military notified the families that they were permitted to return home (instead of at 2:00 P.M. as stated in the order).

Once again, on three days this week – Sunday, Monday and today (Wednesday, 29 May 2019) – Israeli Civil Administration personnel came with a military jeep escort to the Palestinian community of Khirbet Humsah in the northern Jordan Valley. They ordered fifteen families to vacate their homes in accordance with the orders they had been served on 8 May 2019. This is the third week in a row of the temporary displacements, which continue despite the oppressive heat, with temperatures ranging from a high of 36 degrees centigrade (96.8 °F) on Sunday to 42 degrees (107.6 °F) today, and despite the fast of Ramadan. This morning, the troops arrived at Khirbet Humsah at about 5:30 A.M., an hour and a half before the time mandated in the order and compelled the families to vacate their homes, even though they had not yet completed their preparations. The military informed the families that they may return home today at 11:00 A.M., instead of at 2:00 P.M., as written the order.

As a result of the military’s training in the area, a fire started on Monday on lands owned by Tubas residents, east of the region of Khirbet Samrah. The blaze destroyed hundreds of dunams [1 dunam = 1,000 square meters] of pastureland.

At around 7:00 o’clock this morning (Wednesday, 15 May 2019) Israeli Civil Administration personnel, accompanied by a military jeep escort, came for the third time this week to the Palestinian community of Khirbet Humsah (al-Foqa) in the northern Jordan Valley. Once again, they ordered fifteen families to temporarily evacuate their homes, this time from 7:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. The families complied, some leaving by tractor-towed carts and other vehicles, others on foot.

Yesterday (Tuesday, 14 May 2019), two fires broke out on nearby pastureland – one in the morning and one in the evening – as a result of the military training there. The blazes destroyed dozens of dunams [1 dunam = 1 square kilometer] of pastureland that the community uses for grazing its livestock.

Since the beginning of May, four other fires have already erupted as a result of the nearly daily military training in the area. These blazes have destroyed hundreds of dunams of pastureland and dozens of dunams of cultivated farmland.

On the morning of Tuesday, 7 May 2019, Israeli Civil Administration personnel and soldiers arrived at the Palestinian community of Khirbet Humsah (al-Foqa) in the northern Jordan Valley. They served temporary evacuation orders to fifteen of the community’s families, totaling 98 persons, including 56 children. The families received orders to evacuate their homes on 12 separate occasions in May and June. Military training near their homes was cited as pretext. As of 12 May 2019, in the midst of the Muslim month of Ramadan, the families were ordered to vacate their homes every Sunday from 2:00 P.M. until 10:00 A.M. the next morning (Monday); then again from 4:00 P.M. on Monday, until the next morning (Tuesday); and finally, to vacate their homes on Wednesdays from 7:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. Some of the families have nowhere else to stay, and will be forced to spend the night out in the open. Most of the families have already undergone temporary displacement last year, including some families who were forced to leave during the month of Ramadan.

Yesterday (Sunday, 12 May 2019), at around 2 P.M., CA personnel came with a military jeep as escort to Khirbet Humsah and ordered the fifteen families to leave their homes from 2:00 P.M. until 10:00 A.M. the next morning. The families left, some by tractor-towed carts and some on foot. The troops detained for five hours journalists and a field researcher of the al-Haq NGO who were documenting the evacuation. They were detained on the grounds of supposedly being in a closed military zone. The next evacuation is slated for today, Monday, to being at 4:00 P.M. this afternoon.