Demolitions and confiscations in communities facing expulsion

On 30 Jan. 2014 Israeli authorities demolished all the structures of Kh. Um al-Jamal, a small shepherding community in the northern Jordan Valley, citing allegedly unlawful construction. International law allows expelling residents of an occupied territory from their homes only for urgent military needs or for the purpose of protecting the local population. The expulsion must be temporary and reasonable alternative accommodation must be provided. Israel must allow the residents rebuild their homes and remain on the land the military wants them to leave.

A Civil Administration bulldozer arrived once more at Khirbet 'Ein Karzaliyah in the central Jordan Valley this morning. It began demolishing the tents put up by the residents since the latest demolition of 13 January 2014. A soldier escort to the bulldozer slashed the tent fabric so that the tents could not be re-erected. The bulldozer did not manage to demolish all the tents as some of them were placed on a hillside. The residents were informed by Civil Administration officials that they would soon return with a larger bulldozer to complete demolitions. Later, the military detained a vehicle belonging to one of the residents, near the Masua junction.

The 25 residents of Khirbet 'Ein Karzaliyah in the northern Jordan Valley have spent the last few nights out in the open, after their homes and sheep-pens were demolished twice this month by the Civil Administration. On 8 Jan. 2014 the Civil Administration demolished all of the structures. The families were given replacement tents by the ICRC, but the authorities dismantled and confiscated them. The families have received no assistance since, and now sleep out in the open. The residents are concerned about rain and the effect it will have on their children and livestock.

This morning, 13 Jan. Israeli soldiers and Civil Administration officers arrived at Khirbet ‘Ein Karzaliyah, took down six tents the families received from the ICRC and confiscated them, leaving the families again without shelter.This comes a week after the Civil Administration demolished all structures in the small Palestinian community in the Jordan Valley, comprised of 10 adults and 15 children.

This morning (Jan. 8) the Civil Administration demolished all structures in the Palestinian community of Khirbet ‘Ein Karzaliyah in the Jordan Valley, comprised of 10 adults and 15 minors, who have been left with no shelter for themselves or their livestock in the harsh winter weather conditions. B’Tselem Director Jessica Montell said earlier today “Israel has once again forgotten that control entails responsibility. The Jordan Valley cannot be addressed as a merely theoretical issue, discussing its future while completely disregarding the fate of its residents. At the moment, the authorities must set aside their political ambitions and consider the fate of 25 individuals, who do not know how they’ll get through the night and how their flocks, their only source of income and livelihood, will fare.”

The 25-strong farming and shepherding community of Khirbet 'Ein Karzaliyah faces eviction after the HCJ accepted the State's position that the site was a military training zone and that they were not permanent residents. According to International Humanitarian Law, protected persons may be expelled only for urgent military necessity or to protect the local population. Expulsion for military training does not meet these requirements. The planned eviction is part of an ongoing policy aimed at expelling shepherd communities in the Jordan Valley and taking over the land. B'Tselem calls on the authorities to allow the residents of Khirbet 'Ein Karzaliyah to remain in their homes.

Israel plans to expel 1,000 residents of the South Hebron Hills, arguing they are living in a military training firing zone. International law prohibits use of occupied lands for routine military training, and obviously prohibits expulsion of residents to that end. Last month, further to High Court petitions by the villagers, filed by ACRI and Att. Shlomo Lecker, the justices proposed a meditation process to achieve a joint compromise. The villagers’ agreed to the proposed mediation immediately. The State announced its agreement today.

On 16 Sept. 2013 the Civil Admin. demolished all structures of Khallet Makhul, a Bedouin community. For over a week, the military kept the residents from erecting any shelter. On 24 Sept. Adv. Tawfiq Jabareen applied on behalf of the residents to the HCJ, which issued an interim injunction on expulsion or demolition of homes, pending a ruling. The residents have since erected tents, some which the military has demolished–contrary to the injunction, leading Adv. Jabareen to apply to the State Attorney’s Office. On 6 Oct., 11 tents were on-site.

On September 2, 2013 the High Court of Justice (Court President Asher Grunis and Justices Hanan Meltzer and Daphne Barak-Erez) held the first hearing in the renewed petitions against the forced eviction of 1,000 residents of the area known as Firing Zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills. At the close of the hearing the Justices suggested that the parties enter a mediation process in order to reach a mutually agreeable settlement. Read more on ACRI's website.

On 19 Aug. 2013, the Ministry of the Interior demolished all the homes of the Tal ‘Adasa Bedouin community, located near Beit Hanina, after pressuring its members to leave the area since 2005. Although the community’s dozens of members have lived within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem since the 1950s, they are not registered as residents of East Jerusalem. Since the Separation Barrier was built there in 2006, they have been trapped in a narrow enclave under Jerusalem Municipality jurisdiction, isolated from the rest of the West Bank. B’Tselem calls on the government of Israel to acknowledge the rights of the community, which has no other place to live, having lived in the area for decades. The authorities must find a solution to the problem that is acceptable to the community members. Demolishing their homes and expelling them constitutes a violation of international law and will leave them homeless and without a source of livelihood.

Prominent Israeli writers Zeruya Shalev, Eyal Megged, Sayed Kashua and Alona Kimhi visited the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank yesterday. The writers met with the Palestinian residents of the village of Jenbah, who told them about the reality of their lives and the danger they face of being expelled from the site, which the military has declared “Firing Zone 918”.

On Tuesday, 12 June 2012, Israel’s Civil Administration distributed demolition orders to over 50 temporary structures in the Palestinian village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. Residents were given three days, until 15 June 2012, to appeal the orders through the Civil Administration’s Supreme Planning Council. Residents are planning to submit their opposition today (14 June 2012).If the demolition orders are carried out, this will be the third time that Israel has tried to expel the residents of Susiya from their lands.