Facing Expulsion

On Wednesday, 11 September 2019, at around 8:00 A.M., Israeli Civil Administration personnel arrived with soldiers, Border Police officers, a bulldozer and three diggers at the Masafer Yatta area in the South Hebron Hills. In Khirbet al-Mufaqarah, the forces demolished three pre-fabricated buildings and a tent that had housed four families, 18 people in all, including eight children. The forces also confiscated a car belonging to the Masafer Yatta Council, claiming it had entered a firing zone. From there the forces proceeded to Khirbet Sarurah where they demolished a utility structure owned by a family from Yatta who farm land in the region. They then continued southwards, to Khirbet Khilet a-Dabe’, where they demolished two cinder block and concrete structures used as housing for two families with a total of nine members, including five children. The forces also demolished a water cistern belonging to one of the families.

Some of the forces also went to the community of She’b al-Batem and, for the fifth time this year, dug deep trenches and placed boulders to block access from Route 317 to two roads that serve the community’s residents to get to the town of Yatta. In addition, the forces used trenches and boulders in several locations to block off a dirt road leading from Route 317 to the communities a-Tuwani, Kh. a-Rakeez, Kh. al-Mufaqarah, Kh. Sarurah, Kh. Khilet a-Dabe’, Kh. al-Fakhit and Kh. a-Taban, impacting other communities as well. Demolitions and restrictions of movement are part of a series of abusive measures the authorities have been taking against local residents, in a bid to expel them from the area and their homes.

This morning, Tuesday 30 July 2019, at around 6:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived at Khirbet a-Ras al-Ahmar in the northern Jordan Valley with a military escort, a bulldozer, and a truck with a crane. The forces dismantled and confiscated for the second time three tents that were used as a home for a family of nine, including four children. One of the tents was donated by the Red Cross after another tent was demolished. The forces also confiscated a solar panel belonging to the same family. The forces dismantled and confiscated three tents used by another resident as livestock pens; these tents were also donated by a humanitarian organization after the previous demolition. Two feeding troughs were also confiscated.
Later, at around 1:00 P.M., Civil Administration personnel accompanied by a bulldozer arrived at Khirbet Wadi al-Faw, to the south of Khirbet ‘Ein al-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces demolished a tent used for seasonal residency by a family of eight, including three children, as well as a livestock pen owned by the family.

In a separate incident yesterday, Monday 29 July 2019, at around 1:00 P.M. soldiers accompanied by police officers and officials from the Mekorot water company, equipped with a tow-truck, arrived in the village of Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces confiscated a truck fitted with excavation equipment after several residents of the village attempted to dig a water cistern on their farmland.

Today (Sunday, 28 July 2019), at around 9:00 A.M., Israeli soldiers came to the South Hebron Hills, bringing a bulldozer. They heaped piled up boulders and sandpiles to block access from Route 317 onto two roads that lead to the town of Yata and serve the community of She’b al-Batem. In March this year, the Israeli forces blocked the access roads to the community, but the residents later reopened the routes. The closure doubles journey times from the community to the regional center Yata. The forces also used boulders to block the turning from Route 317 onto a road leading to the southern entrance to the village of a-Samu’a, thereby blocking the access between the communities of Khirbet a-Rafat and Khirbet Wadi al-‘Amayer, to the north of the road, and Khirbet al-Kharabah and Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa, to the south.

On Tuesday, 16 July 2019, at around noon, Civil Administration personnel arrived at the community of Khalet al-Furn, east of the village of Bani Na’im in east Hebron, with soldiers, Border Police officers and a bulldozer. The forces demolished a water cistern used for farming. The forces then proceeded south to Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa, south of the town of a-Samu’ and demolished a shack used as a livestock pen.

Today, Thursday, 4 July 2019, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with soldiers, Border Police officers and four bulldozers at Khirbet a-Duqaiqah in the South Hebron Hills. The forces uprooted 500 forest trees planted in a nature reserve in 2014 for the benefit of local residents and destroyed four water cisterns used to irrigate them.

Yesterday, Wednesday, 3 July 2019, at around 8:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with soldiers, Border Police officers, four bulldozers and an excavator at the nature reserve between the villages of Um al-Kheir and a-Najada (Humeida) in the South Hebron Hills. The forces uprooted some 300 acacia trees planted about 12 years ago and destroyed a fence that had been put up around the area.

At about 8:30 this morning, 17 June 2019, Civil Administration officials came with an escort of soldiers, Border Police and two bulldozers to Khirbet Khilet a-Dabe' in the South Hebron Hills. The force demolished a structure made out of cement blocks and a tin roof that was home to a family of 12, including 7 children. The force also demolished the family's power room and confiscated a solar panel. The homeowner, who tried to prevent the demolition, was knocked over by police. The troops then went on to Khirbet al-Halawah. At 11:00 A.M. they demolished another three cement block structures with corrugated metal roofs that were home to three families, leaving 21 people, including 11 children, homeless.