Reported by Operation Dove
Several olive trees were discovered uprooted or broken and a field of wheat destroyed by a jeep in the Southern Hebron Hills village of At-Tuwani Thursday, February 9. The discovery was made in the Khorruba area close to the outpost “Hill 833.” The fields had been replanted in an action organized by Rabbis for Human Rights January 19 after settlers cut down close to one hundred trees.
Field owners filed a complaint with the Israeli Police. Villagers and Rabbis for Human Rights attempt to replant the privately owned Palestinian fields again, but were prevented access by armed soldiers and policemen. The soldiers declared the area a “closed military zone,” but refused to provide a legally-required warrant.
Military checkpoints have interfered with travel between At-Tuwani to Yatta nearly every day for the last month. A section of the annexation barrier is planned to be built on the north side of Road 317. The barrier will significantly limit At-Tuwani civilians’ ability to transit to and between Yatta, and hinder economic and social life.
According to the United Nations Development Program, the Hebron district is the most impoverished area of the West Bank. Many villagers in At-Tuwani have been forced to live in caves due to repeated and systematic house demolitions.