At 7:00 am on the morning of March 29th 2011 the Israeli military demolished the village of Amniyr , destroying seven tent dwellings and confiscating the remains. This is the second time in just over a month that the Israeli army has demolished the village. After the last demolition, villagers built new tent dwellings a few days later with the help of the Israeli human rights group Ta’ayush and the International Red Cross.
Five residents were transported to the hospital with injuries incurred when soldiers forcibly removed residents from their homes. One resident was injured by a blow to his had by the butt of a gun, and four required treatment for inhalation of teargas used by the soldiers.
Israel does not deny that the demolished homes are on private land owned by the village’s Palestinian residents. Israel simply prohibits the residents from constructing any dwellings, cisterns, or structures of any kind, essentially making it “illegal” for these villagers to live on their land.
Immediately after the demolitions were finished, villagers began to reconstruct what they could of the rubble. As residents started gathering stones from a demolished sheep pen, the sounds of an Israeli bulldozer could be heard across the valley as it continued to excavate new construction for the illegal Israeli settlement of Susiya.
Residents sit next to the remains of their home after demolition
Settlers erect tent 10 metres from family Yesterday afternoon the Israeli army destroyed the home of the Nabel Daraghmeh family who have been living in the Ein Al Hilwe region of the Jordan Valley for over 15 years. Three days previously, a group of armed illegal settlers descended in the middle of the night on the area where the family had their tent, setting up their own tent only metres away. In the following days the settlers intimidated and threatened the family of six, ordering them to move their home and leave the area. According to Jordan Valley Solidarity, the settlers threw rocks towards the family’s cattle pen, urinated outside their tent and water-tank, and made as much noise as possible, preventing the family from sleeping. They also put up a fence around the family’s tent and cattle pen preventing them from being able to bring their cattle in at night. The Daraghmeh family legally rent the land from the Lutheran Church, however the Israeli army ordered the family to dimantle and remove their home from the land, eventually destroying it themselves by force.
Settlers erect fence around family's home Ein Al Hilwe is located just below the illegal settlement of Maskiot which houses 28 familes. In the past years the villagers of Ein Al Hilwe have suffered from ongoing attacks from the settlers. Five days ago settlers tied a rope around the neck of a young horse belonging to villagers and attached the rope to the back of their truck, lynching the horse in front of a group of children. Two weeks previously a woman from the village was also attacked whist attempting to take water from the well
At 9 am this morning the Israeli military arrived to the village of Khirbet Tana, close to Beit Furik, south east of Nablus, with four bulldozers and army jeeps. For the sixth time this year the Israeli military demolished homes and animal shelters in the village, this time destroying the village completely. Around 250 people were made homeless and left without any shelter.
The soldiers carrying out the demolition prevented the villagers from collecting their personal belongings, and instead buried it all under dirt. Most of what could be of use for rebuilding the village was confiscated or destroyed in order to make it harder, or even impossible for the villagers to rebuild their homes.
Some of the villagers carried their belongings to the small mosque, seeking shelter there for the night, though there was not enough space for all. The only two buildings left standing were the mosque and the school. The school, however, could be described as a makeshift: it has just been built after the last demolition one week ago. The villagers believe that is just a matter of time before the army returns to destroy this school too.
Besides all the homes and animal shelters that were demolished, the Israeli army also punctured at least two water tanks, leaving as many families without drinking water. The lack of water, food, and shelter for their herds will lead to losses of animals.
During the demolition, a young man was beaten by a group of soldiers with sticks until he reached a state of unconsciousness. The family finally managed to stop the assault by throwing water at the soldiers. At 2 pm the young man that had been beaten was feeling well enough to help his family build a shelter for the animals.
Among the people made homeless today were a young mother with her small baby. When asked where the family will sleep tonight they responded with, “under this tree”.
The residents of Khirbet Tana are trying to rebuild their homes with what materials they can salvage, but are in desperate need of building materials and tents.
Background of Khirbet Tana
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, occupied Palestinan territory: “Khirbet Tana is a community of around 250 people, located in Area C,2 south-east of Nablus city, in an area declared “closed” by the Israeli military for training purposes. The residents, who have lived in the area for decades, reside in basic shelters (tents, tin structures, old caves) and rely on herding and agriculture for their livelihood.
Because residents of Khirbet Tana need grazing land for their livestock, most have no choice but to stay in the area, in order to sustain their livelihood. As such, the community has repeatedly re-built modest structures on the land, including residential tents and animal shelters. In 2008, the community, with the help of the Israeli NGO Rabbis for Human Rights, lodged a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice, requesting the preparation of an adequate planning scheme for the village that would allow the issuance of building permits. The Court rejected the appeal in January 2009, and, shortly thereafter, the community again began receiving demolition orders.
The repeated waves of demolition carried out by the Israeli authorities make it extremely difficult for Khirbet Tana residents to live in stability, sustain their livelihood, or, given the repeated demolition of the village school, educate their children. There are numerous other Palestinian communities living in a similarly precarious situation due to their location in an area declared “closed” by the Israeli authorities. “ //unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/9A55FFBA1724298B852578340057A2F0
This morning the Israeli army demolished homes, wells and trees in the village of Susiya, South Hebron Hills. Two families were made homeless.
A total of five tents, two wells and a number of olive trees were demolished. Tens of troops and two bulldozers were used.
Neighbours were prevented from reaching the families, and teachers on their way to school in Susiya were stopped, and their IDs confiscated, until the demolition was completed.
The families had received their third notice of demolition in January 2011 but were not informed of the date of demolition.
Three Palestinians were arrested and two international visitors were threatened with arrest when soldiers and police arrived in the evening declaring the area a closed military zone.
The families were evicted from a nearby cave which they were using as temporary housing until the new housing could be rebuilt. They formerly lived in the cave, but later moved into tents and were forced to move to the current location because of harassment from illegal settlers and the Israeli army.
Susiya is a small farming community in the hills south of Hebron. Being close to illegal settlements, it is often the target of harassment from settlers or the army. Being in Area C under the Oslo Accords, the Israeli military has full control. Building permits are almost impossible to obtain for Palestinians, so they live in makeshift tents, most of which are constantly under threat of demolition.
Internationals assist by living in the community and by accompanying shepherds as they graze their sheep. The constant threat of home demolitions is very stressful for the Palestinian residents of the area.
22 February 2011 | Operation Dove & Christian Peacemaker Team
Amniyr, South Hebron Hills, West Bank: At 5 AM this morning the Israeli army, accompanied by members of the Israeli District Coordinating Office, arrived at the village of Amniyr and demolished five tent-houses, two cisterns and the village’s olive trees. The demolitions effectively destroyed the entire village and left its three families homeless. All that remained unharmed after the military left was a cave and a small taboun oven.
According to villagers, the military had been coming frequently for the past several months and delivering demolition orders and maps claiming that the village was on Israeli state land, and that their homes would be demolished unless everyone left.
Residents of Amniyr told CPT that they have suffered from years of settler and army harrassment. Years ago, members of the Jaboor family lived in the cave in Amniyr, but Israeli military and settler harassment forced them to move to a different area a few kilometers away. The harrassment continued in their new location, however, convincing the family to move back to tents close to their original cave just over a year ago.
What was once a small village is now a pile of dirt mounds, uprooted olive trees and shattered clocks and dishware.
“Where are we supposed to sleep tonight?” said Moath Jaboor, who lived in a tent with his mother. “We’ll have to rebuild our homes so that we can sleep.”
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
