Images
Military training this morning. Photo by 'Aref Daraghmeh, B'Tselem, 19 March 2018
Since 5 March 2018, more than two weeks ago, large Israeli forces – including infantry, tanks and armored vehicles – have been conducting military training on an almost daily basis near Palestinian communities in several areas in the northern Jordan Valley, mostly near Khirbet al- al-Malih and the village of al-Farisiyah. The troops have been training in the use of live ammunition on pastureland and other farmland indispensable to the livelihood of the local residents. In a number of cases, tanks even drove through the residential area, maneuvering among residents' homes. This morning (19 March), a military force made up of three tanks, a jeep and an armored vehicle drove mere meters away from farmers tilling their land, passing at a distance of some 150 meters from the homes of the community of Khirbet Um al-Jamal. This morning was but one more example of the daily military training routine that Israeli decision-makers impose on the people living in the Palestinian communities of the northern Jordan Valley, with a view to forcing them to leave, ostensibly of their own accord.