HEBRON, September 10, 2014 – (WAFA) – Israeli forces demolished on
Wednesday several homes and structures in Khashem al-Daraj village to the east
of Yatta near Hebron, under the pretext of ‘being built without a permit,’said a
local activist.
Large Israeli troops, escorting military bulldozers, raided
Khashem al-Daraj, cordoning it off before the bulldozers proceeded to demolish
several homes and structures belonging to al-Hathalin tribe, according to Rateb
Jabour, who coordinates the National Committee against Wall and Settlements.
Head of the Local Council Ibrahim al-Hathalin said that the
Palestinian residents are very concerned that Israeli forces would demolish
more homes and structures in the area. He condemned the demolition as ‘an
arbitrary and retaliatory action that forms a part of an Israeli plan to
displace the Palestinians as a prelude for expropriating their lands for
settlement construction.
According to ARIJ-published Khashem al-Daraj Village Profile,
the village is located 18 km southeast of Hebron City in the southern occupied
West Bank. The total area of the village is estimated to be 45,000 dunums, of
which 1,000 dunums are Palestinian built-up areas, 6,000 dunums are
agricultural land, and around 38,000 dunums are forests or open spaces.
The village is primarily agricultural; all its residents depend
on the agricultural sector, mainly on livestock. More than 85% of the residents
depend on livestock rearing and dairy production.
The village is supplied with water through a dilapidated water
network and cisterns are used for domestic and agricultural uses, which makes
water availability and quality a main area of concern. The village remains
heavily dependent on electrical generators as the only provider of electricity,
which makes electrical power very weak.
Therefore, the village remains in a critical need for the paving
of new roads and the construction and installation of new water networks and
reservoirs. In terms of agriculture, the village is in a pressing need for
rehabilitation of agricultural roads, building cisterns and construction
livestock barracks.
K.F./T.R.
