8 June 2009
On the 8th of June 2009, at 8 am, a bulldozer, escorted by 5 police and army cars, destroyed a Palestinian reservoir in Al Bueri, north of Hebron.
Mohammed Radi Sultan, the owner, had built the reservoir three years ago in order to irrigate his vineyard, but he could not acquire a permit from the Israeli occupation authorities. Residents of Al Bueri are not allowed to build anything on their land, which is completely surrounded by settlements and an outpost.
On Thursday, June 4th, Mohammed received a court order to demolish the reservoir but the order was not to be implemented for 10 days. Ten days were given to allow him the option of appealing the demolition decision.
A bulldozer and police cars arrived to demolish the reservoir at 8am. Ten Palestinians tried to stop the demolition, but were beaten by the police. One Palestinian was arrested.
There are severe consequences for Sultan family as a result of the demolition. They will be unable to rebuild the reservoir because it is a very expensive structure (it was 6 meters deep). Also, the lack of water will negatively impact the growth of the vines and the grape harvest this year.
In addition to the reservoir, some vines were destroyed as well as half of a surrounding wheat field. In the near area of Al Baqa seven other reservoirs were destroyed on the same day.