HEBRON, Thursday, June 06, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli forces prevented Palestinian farmers from farming their land located adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement of Susiya, according to a local activist.

The popular committee coordinator in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, told WAFA Israeli soldiers prevented farmers in Gazawi, an area in Masafer Yatta, in the southern Occupied West Bank of Hebron, from cultivating their own lands.

Masafer Yatta is classified as Area C, which is under full Israeli military control. Area C makes up around 60 percent of the area of the occupied West Bank, which Israel plans to annex after expelling its Palestinian population.

It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.

Israeli violations against the area include demolition of animal barns, homes and residential structures. Issuance of construction permits by Israel to local Palestinians in the area is non-existent.

T.R.