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.
14 January 2012Khan al-Ahmar school, Khan al-Ahmar (Abu al-Hilu)
Israel's Civil Administration is planning to forcibly relocate some 27,000 Bedouins living in Area C in the West Bank. At first, 20 communities, comprising some 2,300 people, will be uprooted from the area of the Ma'ale Adummim settlement and relocated to a site next to the Abu Dis garbage dump, east of Jerusalem. Members of the Khan al-Ahmar community explain how the move will affect them.
10 October 2011Khan al-Ahmar school, Khan al-Ahmar (Abu al-Hilu)
The Civil Administration has announced a plan to "relocate" the 27,000 Bedouins living in Area C in the West Bank. In Jan. 2012, some 2,300 Bedouins will be forcibly transferred to a site near the Abu Dis refuse dump, east of Jerusalem, in blatant contravention of international law, which prohibits the forced transfer of protected persons. The expulsion will advance the splitting up of the West Bank by enabling expansion of the Ma'ale Adummim settlement, exacerbating the injustice.
In the past four months, the Civil Administration has demolished all the structures in Khirbet Tana, a Bedouin village of 250 people in the Jordan Valley. Following the completion of the demolition, on 2 March, only a mosque was left standing in the village. The demolition is part of Israel's ongoing attempt to expel the Bedouin from the Jordan Valley.
12 August 2010Nab’ al-Ghazal (al-Farisiyah), Nab’ al-Ghazal (al-Farisiyah)
Last month, the Civil Administration demolished all the structures in al-Farsiya and in other Bedouin farming communities in the northern Jordan Valley, delivered dozens of demolition and eviction orders in additional communities, and confiscated water pumps.
Israel is effectively pressuring Palestinians to leave al-Hadidiyeh, a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley, by denying building permits, repeatedly demolishing structures, and severely restricting movement. The community also reports harassment by settlers.
15 July 2009Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi, 'Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi
'Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi is isolated in a Separation Barrier enclave that annexes a nearby settlement to Israel. Residents claim they have again been informed that they must relocate, although such a move contradicts Israel's explicit undertaking before the High Court.
The Civil Administration has issued orders to demolish most of the houses in the village of al-'Aqabah, which lies in the northern Jordan Valley, and many houses in other villages in the area. Israel's planning policy in the West Bank centers on preventing Palestinian construction and promoting expansion of settlements.
14 July 2008Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi, 'Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi
The village of 'Arab a-Ramadin al-Janubi is a Separation Barrier enclave. Residents say the Civil Administration recently demanded they relocate, contradicting Israel's explicit commitment to the High Court.
The demolitiTThe demolition in Khirbet al-Fakhit. Photo by Nasser Nawaj'ah, B'Tselem, 19 Oct. 2020
This morning, 19 October 2020, at around 7:30 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a Border Police escort, a bulldozer and a digger to the community of Khirbet a-Rakeez in the Masafer Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills. The forces confiscated a tent that housed a family of five, including three children. The tent was donated to the family by the a-Tuwani village council after Israel demolished their home on 30 September 2020. From there, the forces continued south to the community of Khirbet al-Fakhit and demolished a tin-roofed cinderblock structure that housed a family of four, including one child. The home was built with international humanitarian aid. Before the forces left, they destroyed a livestock pen and a storage tent owned by the same family. The forces continued to an area located between Khirbet Khallet a-Dabe’ and Khirbet al-Mufaqarah, where they cut a 2.5-kilometer stretch of piping used to supply water to Masafer Yatta communities.
Image
The demolition in Khirbet al-Fakhit. Photo by Nasser Nawaj'ah, B'Tselem, 19 Oct. 2020
