At the end of November, the Occupation carried out a big wave of demolitions targeting 16 buildings throughout the West Bank. Some were homes, some agricultural and commercial sheds, and three buildings belonged to the Palestinian General Petroleum Consortium. The demolitions â-all perpetrated under the pretext of lacking construction permits from the Occupation– have affected several areas of the West Bank. The areas that have been targeted are:
***image2***Al Funduq (Salfit)
On the 22nd of November, the Occupation forces demolished two houses and one animal farm. The houses belonged to the families of Hamdan el Rubaâ and Abdel Majid Muhammad Mâhessain. The farm belonged to Ibrahim Mâhessain and before the demolition was used to raise chickens and provided the only source of income for his family. As the Occupation bulldozers arrived, the people of the village gathered to defend the buildings. Clashes erupted when the Occupation forces started to pump tear gas and the people stayed to defend the buildings and their rights until two of the villagers were injured by the Occupationâs brutality.
Tarqumiya (West Hebron District)
On the 27th of November, the Occupation bulldozers demolished three office buildings of the Palestinian General Petroleum Consortium. These buildings are located west of Tarqumiya near the fortified checkpoint constructed by the Occupation to channel, control, and bar at whim, commercial transactions. The checkpointâs main function is to funnel gas and petrol to the West Bank. Now the operational infrastructure on Palestinian side has been destroyed.
Hebron
The Occupation forces demolished Faraj Ibrahim Jaberâs house located in al Baqaâa area, east of the city of Hebron, near Qiryat Arba on the 26th of November. Later that day, the same bulldozers moved on to Wadi Samn area, south of the city and demolished Izhaq Muhammad Elfaâiye Madaniâs home. The latter building was still under construction and was to offer space for an extended family with an artisan well.
***image3***Qalqiliya district
In Wadi al Rasha, south east of Qalqiliya, the Occupation demolished a house on the 29th of November. The home was a simple construction of corrugated zinc, yet it was home to Aâuni Awdeh and his 5 family members. The entire community is forced to live in make-shift sheds without even the most basic infrastructure because the Occupation never recognized the village and since it was in area C under the Oslo agreements the PNA had no possibility to act. Today the community finds itself isolated behind the Wall with all their homes under demolition orders. The aim of the Occupation is clearly to destroy the entire village. The people of the community tried to defend the house until the Occupation forces repressed the protest with tear gas.
In Khirbet Zakariya, a community that is now entirely surrounded by the settlement buildings of Gosh Etzion, the Occupation demolished two rooms belonging to brothers Muhammad Issa Odeh and Tayseer Muhammad Odeh. The village resisted the demolition just as they had in Wadi al Rasha. And also just as in Wadi al Rasha, the Occupation does not recognize Khirbet Zakariyaâs existence and aims to completely demolish the entire village built out of carcinogenic corrugated zinc homes.
In the same day the Occupation bulldozers demolished Muâaeen Barham Zeidâs house while it was under construction at the east entrance of Qalqiliya. At the northern entrance to the city, they also demolished a wall surrounding a commercial building belonging to Abdel Rahim Sasa.
Kifl Hares (Salfit)
On the 24th of November, three commercial stores belonging to Fathallah Mustafa in Kifl Hares were demolished. This means the livelihood of his family and several employees have been destroyed. Fathallah Mustafa was not even allowed to save his machinery and equipment from the bulldozers. This was the fourth time that the Occupation demolished his stores, yet, every time he has rebuilt them in the same place again.
Further house demolitions in Qarawa and Ar Rabuna have already been reported. (Link)
For the affected people and the local village councils, the motivations behind the destructions are clear. âIt is the Zionist project to expel the Palestinians. They first confiscate our lands, demolish our houses, and kill our children randomly. They put us in small prisons and ghettos to make us leave the country. But we will resist and if they demolish the house we will rebuild it and stand up for our rights and our homes.â Statements like this are the general response from the Palestinians under attack.
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