8 March 2016 Kh. Tana, Kh. Tana

Demolition spree carries on across West Bank; 435 people, incl. 234 minors, have lost their homes since Jan. 2016

In the first week of March, authorities demolished 17 dwellings, 19 livestock pens, and a school in two Jordan Valley communities, rendering 64 people - incl. 28 minors - homeless. These actions are a direct continuation of the unusually massive demolition campaign authorities launched in Palestinian shepherding communities across the West Bank. Since Jan., authorities have dismantled and demolished 203 structures, including 105 dwellings, in communities threatened with expulsion; 435 people, including 234 minors, lost their homes. This consistently applied government policy constitutes the forced transfer of protected Palestinian residents in an occupied area.

29 February 2016

Israel’s Civil Administration demolishes four families’ homes in Jordan Valley

This morning, 29 February 2016, Civil Administration (CA) and military personnel arrived at the community of Khallet Khader in the region of al-Farisiyah in the northern Jordan Valley. They demolished five dwelling tents, which were home to 19 people, including five minors. They also demolished three livestock pens in use by Khallet Khader families. The tents had been given to the families by the Red Cross after the CA demolished 21 structures in the community on 11 February 2016. The community of Khallet Khader is located in the region of al-Farisiyah, which the military had termed a firing zone, and near the settlements of Shadmot-Mehola and Rotem. The community’s residents are farmers and they raise goats and sheep. Some families live on site only for certain seasons of the year.

25 February 2016 Abu a-Nuwar, Abu a-Nuwar (Bseisat)

Demolition campaign continues: Civil Administration and military demolish additional structures in two communities

Additional demolitions since we reported the early 2016 demolition campaign: On Feb. 20, Israeli authorities confiscated two large caravans used for expanding the Abu a-Nuwar school, where some children study in other communities due to overcrowding. On Feb. 15, 32 structures, including 10 homes were demolished in Ein a-Rashash, leaving dozens homeless. These demolitions and confiscations are part of an unusually massive demolition campaign the Israeli authorities launched in Palestinian shepherding communities in the West Bank in Jan. 2016.

16 February 2016 خ. سوسيا, خ. جنبة, خ. الحلاوة, خ. الرهوة, جبل البابا, خ. عين كرزلية, المكسر, خ. طانا, فصايل, خ. عينون, خ. يرزة, Kh. Susiya, Kh. Jenbah, Kh.al-Halawah, Kh. a-Rahwa, Jabal al-Baba, Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, al-Mukasar, Kh. Tana, Fasayil, Kh. 'Einun, Kh. Yarza, Kh. Susiya, Kh. Jenbah, Kh.al-Halawah, Kh. a-Rahwah, Jabal al-Baba, Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, al-Mukasar, Kh. Tana, Fasayil, Kh. 'Einun, Kh. Yarza

New wave of demolitions in West Bank: Another phase in policy of expelling Palestinians from vast portions of West Bank

As of Jan. 2016 Israeli authorities stepped up efforts to expel Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills, Ma’ale Adumim area and the Jordan Valley, demolishing 73 homes and 51 other structures, some donated by aid agencies. Israel recently announced plans to demolish many more structures in Kh. Susiya, expel Abu a-Nuwar’s residents, and reported its failed mediation with Masafer Yatta. All are part of a policy whereby Area C is to serve Israel rather than West Bank Palestinians. Restrictions Israel imposes in Area C force all West Bank Palestinians to live in crowded enclaves without land reserves for building, farming, infrastructure, health and education services or freedom of movement.

11 February 2016 Ein al-Beida, Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, al-Mukasar, Fasayil, al-Jiftlik, Kh. Tana, Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, al-Mukasar, 'Ein al-Beida, Fasayil, al-Jiftlik, Kh. Tana

In a three-day demolition campaign in the Jordan Valley, the authorities left 59 people, including 28 minors, homeless

Over three days during the past week, the authorities demolished 22 dwellings in the Jordan Valley, along with 41 other structures used for storage and livestock, leaving 59 people, including 28 minors without a roof over their heads.

9 February 2016 Kh. a-Ras al-Ahmar, Kh. Ibziq, Kh. a-Ras al-Ahmar, Kh. Ibziq

Israeli military trains, fires shells near homes of Kh. a-Ras al-Ahmar, northern Jordan Valley

In mid-Jan, 24 Palestinian families in the Jordan Valley were informed they would be temporarily displaced at month’s end for military training in the area. The evacuation was cancelled due to weather conditions, but the military did conduct training very close to one community, causing panic among residents, especially children, and crushing crops. Military training in the Jordan Valley is illegal. Israel must immediately stop it and all other measures employed in an attempt to force Palestinian residents of the Jordan Valley out of the area.

4 February 2016 المكسر, خ. سوسيا, al-Mukasar, Kh. Susiya, al-Mukasar, Kh. Susiya

Another day in Area C: Israeli demolitions in two Palestinian communities leave 27 homeless

On Thursday morning, 4 February 2016, Civil Administration (CA) officials came to the Palestinian shepherding community of al-Mkassar in the northern Jordan Valley with bulldozers and a military escort. They proceeded to demolish four tents that were home to two families – a total of 19 people, including 12 minors. They also demolished eight livestock pens. These families had already lost their homes in a previous demolition in June 2015. Later that the day, around noon, CA and military forces came to the Palestinian community of Khirbet Susiya in the South Hebron Hills, where they dismantled and confiscated two tents that were home to a family of eight, including six minors. The tents were donated to the family after their two previous tents were demolished about two weeks ago, on 20 January 2016.

2 February 2016 خ. جنبة, خ. الحلاوة, Kh. Jenbah, Kh. Jenbah, Kh.al-Halawah

Israeli authorities demolish homes of 22 Palestinian families in Firing Zone 918

Today, 2 Feb. 2016, Israeli authorities demolished a total of 22 homes in two Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills, leaving 110 people, including 64 minors, homeless in mid-winter. The communities lie in an area declared by the military as Firing Zone 918. This comes immediately after the end of unsuccessful mediation between Israeli authorities and the communities, which now plan to renew their legal battle against attempts to expel them from their land.

27 January 2016 Jabal al-Baba, Kh. Susiya, Abu a-Nuwar, Kh. a-Rahwa, Jabal al-Baba, Abu a-Nuwar (Bseisat), Kh. Susiya, Kh. a-Rahwah

Israeli authorities demolish ten Palestinian homes in Area C in January, leaving 59 homeless, incl. 37 minors

Since the beginning of 2016 Israel has demolished eight Palestinian homes in the area defined as E1 and two homes in the South Hebron Hills, including one in Khirbet Susiya, where residents have struggled for years against expulsion and settler takeover. These demolitions serve Israel’s policy to create immutable facts on the ground ahead of any future agreement. This longstanding policy, which creates an impossible daily reality for Palestinians in Area C, constitutes forced transfer of protected residents within the occupied territory.

17 January 2016 Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, Kh. Yarza, Kh. 'Einun, Kh. 'Ein Karzaliyah, Kh. Yarza, Kh. 'Einun

Week of harassment in Jordan Valley continues harm to Area C communities

From 12 to 14 Jan.2016, B'Tselem documented Civil Administration harassment of five Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley, in continuation of efforts to force Palestinians out of Area C. In Kh. ‘Ein Karzaliyah, structures were photographed, apparently ahead of repeat demolitions; in Kh. ‘Einun, forces destroyed agricultural structures and a water reservoir; and in Yarza and Kh. a-Ras al-Ahmar, families were informed that they would again be displaced for military training.

14 January 2016 Kh. a-Rahwa, Kh. a-Rahwah

Civil Administration demolishes family’s tent home and livestock pen in Khirbet a-Rahwa, south Hebron hills

In the early hours of 13 January 2016, representatives of the Civil Administration and the military came to the Palestinian community of Khirbet a-Rahwa, which lies south of the town of a-Dahariya and close to the settlement Tene. The force demolished a tent that was home to a family of nine, including seven minors, and a livestock pen that belongs to the family. The force also confiscated a solar panel donated to the family by humanitarian aid organizations. The family’s tent had already been demolished a year ago and re-erected since.

6 January 2016 al-Hadidiyah, al-Hadidiyah

HCJ issues interim injunction on demolitions in al-Hadidiyah

On 10 December 2015 Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) issued an interim injunction in the petition filed by families from al-Hadidiyah. The injunction orders authorities not to demolish the families’ tents. On 30 December 2015 the HCJ ruled, with the agreement of the petitioners and the state, that as long as the residents erect no new structures or implement changes in extant structures, no demolitions will be carried out until further notice. The residents’ petition is scheduled to be heard in February 2016.