On Monday, Israeli military bulldozers demolished a significant portion of a Palestinian Bedouin village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, destroying the community’s infrastructure and leaving residents to navigate through the debris of their homes.
The demolition occurred in Khalet Al-Dab during the morning hours, as reported by Basel Adra, a local filmmaker, journalist, and activist. According to Mohammed Rabia, the head of the village council, nine houses, five tents, and five animal enclosures were destroyed.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military organisation tasked with overseeing administrative matters in the occupied West Bank, announced the demolition of structures that were constructed unlawfully in a region classified as a restricted firing zone.
Palestinians have consistently asserted that obtaining Israeli authorisation for construction in the West Bank is virtually unattainable.
Ali Dababsa, an 87-year-old shepherd, stood in shock as he witnessed the destruction of his home. “We want to die under this soil, this land is precious to us and we are the owners of this land,” he stated, as he and other villagers gathered on a hilltop.
The demolitions occurred in Masafer Yatta, a region in the West Bank where extremist Israeli settlers are expanding their network of outposts.
Palestinians say settlers act with the implicit approval of the Israeli government, which conducts home demolitions and seldom holds settlers accountable for acts of violence against Palestinians.
“Since Oct. 7, the Israeli army with the settlers established three illegal outposts around this community and now erasing this village to create more and more Israeli illegal settlements in the area,” said Adra, co-director of the Oscar-winning film “No Other Land” which addresses the expulsion of Palestinians and the violence perpetrated by settlers in the area.
The demolition coincides with plans by Israeli forces to raze more than 100 homes in two northern refugee camps located in the West Bank.
Additional sources • AP