Israel has begun demolishing the city of Bedouin in the West Bank for the second time in three months, in which a rights group called for an attempt to evict the entire Palestinian community from the region.
Israeli authorities said the town of Khirbet Humsah, in the Jordan Bank of the West Bank, was illegally built on an ammunition field, and residents rejected their offer to move to a nearby area.
An Israeli truck carrying dismantled structures in the small town of Khirbet Humsah
(Photo: Reuters)
130 residents of Khirbet Humsah have pledged to stay, with some sleeping on mattresses and plastic tar scattered on the rocky soil. Tent homes and animal shelters in the town were severely destroyed in November, although residents returned shortly afterwards.
“We will not move from here, we will stay here. If they collapse, we will rebuild,” said one of the residents, Ibrahim Abu Awad. He and another Bedouin in the city said they feared Israeli settlers would take the empty land.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem described Khirbet Humsah’s overthrow as “surprisingly widespread”, accusing Israel of seeking to “move Palestinian communities firmly to take over their land”. .
A Palestinian man is sitting on mattresses in the small town of Khirbet Humsah
(Photo: Reuters)
An estimated 440,000 Israeli settlers live among more than 3 million Palestinians on the West Bank, an area captured by Israel in a 1967 war and wanted by Palestinians as part of a state at the time future.
Israeli forces began removing tents and pens in Kirbet Humsah on Monday, residents and B’Tselem said. On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers along with spies demolished several steel and wooden structures in the city, Reuters TV photos showed.
The infected tents were on 74 Palestinians, including 41 minors, B’Tselem said in a statement.
A Palestinian man is standing next to Israeli soldiers in the small town of Khirbet Humsah
(Photo: Reuters)
COGAT, Israel’s military link with the Palestinians, said it explained to residents “the dangers of living inside the firing range” and gave them a place outside.
“Despite the offer, the residents refused to move the illegally established tent areas independently and without the necessary permits and permits,” COGAT said.
Palestinians and a rights group say such permits are almost impossible to obtain from Israel.