TUBAS,
Tuesday, August 31, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli forces today demolished three livestock barns in Khirbet Ibziq community, northeast of Tubas in the occupied
northern Jordan Valley, according to a local official .
Mutaz
Bsharat, an official in charge of monitoring Israeli
colonial settlement activities in Tubas district, told WAFA that Israeli forces
raided the community and tore down two 120-square-meter tents used as livestock
barns belonging to Muhammad al-Hroub.
The
forces also demolished another 60-square-meter tent used as a livestock barn
belonging to Adel al-Hroub.
The
tents were torn down purportedly for being built without construction licenses.
The
soldiers later declared the community as a closed military zone.
Under
international law, driving residents of an occupied territory from their homes
is considered forcible transfer of protected persons, which constitutes a war
crime. But residents of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley are no
strangers to such disruptive Israeli policies.
The
valley, which is a fertile strip of land running west along the Jordan River,
is home to about 65,000 Palestinians and makes up approximately 30% of the West
Bank.
Since
1967, when the Israeli army occupied the West Bank, Israel has transferred at
least 11,000 of its Jewish citizens to the Jordan Valley. Some of the
settlements in which they live were built almost entirely on private
Palestinian land.
The
Israel military has also designated about 46 percent of the Jordan Valley as a
closed military zone since the beginning of the occupation in June 1967, and
has been utilizing the pretext of military drills to forcefully displace
Palestinian families living there as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing and
stifling Palestinian development in the area.
Approximately
6,200 Palestinians live in 38 communities in places earmarked for military use
and have had to obtain permission from the Israeli authorities to enter and
live in their communities.
In
violation of international law, the Israeli military not only temporarily
displaces the communities on a regular basis, but also confiscates their
farmlands, demolishes their homes and infrastructure from time to time.
Besides
undergoing temporary displacement, the Palestinian families living there face a
myriad restrictions on access to resources and services. Meanwhile, Israel
exploits the resources of the area and generates profit by allocating generous
tracts of land and water resources for the benefit of settlers.
Israeli
politicians have made it clear on several occasions that the highly strategic
Jordan Valley would remain under their control in any eventuality.
K.F.