Images
Demolition of a residential structure in Khirbet a-Rakeez. Photo by Nasser Nawajah, B'Tselem, 27 Feb. 2020
On thursday, 27 February 2020, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a Border Police escort, military jeeps, a bulldozer and a digger to the Palestinian community of Khirbet a-Safai a-Tahta in the area of Masafer Yatta, which lies in the South Hebron Hills. About 22 people live in the community. The forces demolished a shack used as a livestock pen and an outdoor livestock enclosure owned by two members of the community.
They then proceeded westwards to Khirbet al-Mufaqarah, which is home to some 73 residents, where they demolished a tin-roofed cinderblock structure housing a family of three. From there they turned north to Khirbet a-Rakeez, home to 15 people, where they demolished another tin-roofed cinderblock structure housing a family of nine, including five children. Both residences had been donated by a humanitarian aid organization.
The demolitions were executed pursuant to Military Order 1797, which was issued in April of 2018 and removed the semblance of judicial review.