RAMALLAH, February 5, 2018 (WAFA) – Minister of Health Jawad Ali Monday decided to exempt the Bedouin community of Jabal al-Baba, to the east of Jerusalem, from health insurance fees in show of support.

Following the instructions of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Ali said in a press release that the decision comes in a time where this community continues to be targeted by the Israeli army and settlers in order to take over their land.

He affirmed that the decision is an expression of solidarity, especially after Israeli forces demolished a school for children in Jabal al-Baba. 

Jabal al-Baba is a community of 57 families or 300 people who are under the threat of losing their homes.

While Israel claims that the reason for repetitive demolition of their homes is due to the lack of a construction permit, residents of Jabal al-Baba say the real reason is to remove them from their land and replace them with Jewish settlers.

The measures come as part of a project known as E1 where Israel plans to build a major settlement that will connect to the nearby illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, divide the occupied West Bank in half and cut East Jerusalem from its West Bank environs.

M.H.