Twelve Palestinian villages in West Bank face demolition

Earlier demolition - Image: MAP

Source: Vatican Media, MAP

Twelve Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta, home to more than 2,800 people, face imminent demolition after Israel designated the area as a 'military firing zone'. This move paves the way for further displacement and settlement expansion.

The region falls within what the Oslo Accords defined as 'Area C' of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

On 18 June, Israel's Higher Planning Council for the West Bank issued a final decision designating the entire area as a military firing zone, officially titled "Firing Zone 918," for use in live-fire training exercises by Israeli forces.

The legal battle surrounding Masafer Yatta has gone on for decades, with repeated appeals by residents yielding no lasting protection. This latest decision appears to mark the end of their efforts. Palestinian families have long argued that the military designation serves as a pretext for expanding Jewish settlements rather than genuine defence needs. While military exercises in the area have been infrequent, at least a dozen new outposts have been established, often under the protection of Israeli soldiers.

Residents report an escalation of tensions and violence associated with these settlements.

A particularly harrowing scene was captured in the final moments of the Academy Award winning documentary film 'No Other Land', which shows the cousin of the film's protagonist and co-director, Basel Adra, being brutally killed by a group of settlers as Israeli Defence Forces stand by.

Palestinian claims that the military zone designation serves a broader goal of forced displacement date back to the origins of the dispute in the 1980s, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly expressed intentions to initiate a population transfer in the area.

In 2022, Israeli Judge David Mintz rejected the community's appeals, ordering them to vacate lands inhabited by their families for generations. Since then, as the documentary illustrates, demolitions have become systematic and frequently accompanied by acts of violence.

The most recent ruling not only halts all legal processes related to land registration in the area, citing unspecified "security concerns," but also risks opening the door to a new wave of demolitions in the near future.

As the region faces the prospect of intensified displacement, the people of Masafer Yatta are urgently calling upon the international community and the media not to allow their forced exodus to be overlooked amid the wider geopolitical conflict.

LINK

No Other Land: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/51851