HEBRON, January 20, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli army forces Wednesday tore down two tents used as shelters by Palestinian families living east of Yatta, to the south of Hebron in the West Bank.
The Popular Committee Coordinator in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour told WAFA Israeli soldiers raided Susya locale east of Yatta, in which about 350 people live, and tore down two tents used as shelters by the family of Naser Shretih.
The village of Susiya has become the focus of an international campaign, attracting European diplomats, officials, US state department and pro-Palestinian activists after the Israeli High Court denied a Palestinian request for an injunction to stop Israel‘s plans to destroy their homes in May 2014.
For years, Palestinians in Susya suffered greatly under the Israeli occupation. In 1986, Israeli authorities expelled the families living in Susya after nearby archaeological ruins were declared a national archaeological park.
After being expelled, the families settled on their land, located between the archaeological site and the Israeli settlement of Susiya, until 2001 when the Israeli army returned and destroyed their homes and their wells and expelled them once again.
They appealed to the Israeli High Court, which gave them a temporary injunction order allowing them to return temporarily to their land.
After the order was annulled in 2007, Susiya’s families appealed to the High Court to claim rights to their land.
M.H
