On May 25th, 2010, the occupation forces notified a small community living in the south of Yatta, which is a part of the Hebron Governorate, about orders for the demolition of their tents, sheds, and other facilities. This is the second time this community has been notified.
The people had been notified on April 13th, 2010 for the first time about the demolition plans when Israeli Occupation Forces released orders requiring them to “stop work and construction.” On May 25th, the occupation forces delivered further demolition orders to three people, which informed them about the imminent destruction of twenty facilities, including tents for housing, water wells, and sheep pens.
If the demolition orders are carried out as planned, they will create a humanitarian disaster for the entire community, in which 100 people will be displaced as a result. Moreover, the demolition will create damage to livestock and agricultural facilities and therefore deprive the people of their core sources of income and sustenance.
The community lives some 15 kilometers south of the town center of Yatta. The extended families of the Jabaryen and Najar have been living in the area for decades, long before Israel extended its occupation to the West Bank. The people of the community have maintained their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle and have not yet received access to electricity and water systems. Instead, they rely on rainwater harvesting for drinking water and water for their livestock and they depend on a generator to provide light in the tents at night. However, this independent and self-sufficient community has been entrapped by the settlement of Otniâel from the north and route 60 from the west. As these invasive and unjust Israeli territories continue to grow as they have, the people in this community in the south of Yatta will continue to be expelled from their land.