HEBRON, February 2, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Tuesday demolished several Palestinian residential structures in Janba and al-Halawa, two out of 19 small localities comprising At-Tuwani and Massafer Yatta villages, south of Hebron, said a local activist.
WAFA reported on Ratib al-Jabur, who monitors settlement construction in southern Hebron, as saying that Israeli forces, escorting bulldozers, stormed Janba and al-Halawa localities before proceeding to demolish four residential structures.
The structures, a home for over 20 members including children, women, and elderly, belonged to members of Abu ‘Iram family.
During the demolition raid, forces seized a number of EU-funded solar panels used for generating electricity. They physically assaulted and pepper-sprayed several local Palestinians who protested the demolition, causing them to suffocate.
Israeli military frequently destroys Palestinian farmland and storm houses under the guise of conducting military drills in the southern Hebron hills of Massafer Yatta.
On January 13, hundreds of soldiers occupied the land in front of a military base near Jinba and al-Halawa localities, pitching up tents, digging trenches and bringing military equipment.
Soldiers conducted their drills across local Palestinian farmland cultivated with winter crops and stormed local houses and residential structures, severely restricting local Palestinians’ freedom of movement, damaging fields and chasing away shepherds with their flocks.
At least 1,300 Palestinians currently live in the area. They have been living in this area for decades, many since before the Israeli occupation began in 1967. The area is populated by at least 1,300 Palestinians who face a continuous risk of forcible expulsion.
The Jinba, Mirkez and Halaweh are among 14 Palestinian communities of Masafer Yatta area that has been designated by Israeli authorities (military) as a closed military zone for training since 1980s. The area has been referred to accordingly as Firing Zone 918.
“Subsequently, these communities have been subject to a range of policies and practices that have undermined their physical security, lowered their standard of living, and increased their poverty levels and dependence on humanitarian aid. The communities are at continuous risk of forcible transfer out of the area,” said the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA).
According to OCHA, families in two other communities in the area – Al Kharoubeh and Khirbet Sarura – have already been forced to leave their homes as a result of settlement activity, including settler violence.
Like many other Palestinian communities located in Area C, which is under full Israeli military and administrative control, Palestinians living in Masafer Yatta are particularly vulnerable and food insecure. They rely on livestock, mostly sheep and goats, as their primary source of income.
Some families are unable to support their livestock since access to grazing areas is restricted due to the threat of settler violence or by the Israeli military, and thus have reduced income with which to meet their own needs, increasing their levels of poverty. All of the communities located in the Firing Zone are dependent upon food assistance from humanitarian organizations.
K.F./T.R.
