Demolitions and confiscations in communities facing expulsion

On Monday, 23 May 2022, at around 7:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with two bulldozers at the village in ‘Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta in the Jordan Valley. The forces demolished two homes under construction owned by a family from the ‘Aqbat Jaber Refugee Camp in Jericho that were intended to serve as vacation homes for rent.

On Monday, 16 May 2022, at around 10:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with a bulldozer at the village of ‘Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta, west of Jericho. The forces demolished a vacatation house belonging to a family from East Jerusalem, as well as a water container and solar panels.

On Monday, 16 May 2022, at around 10:00 A.M., soldiers arrived at the southern part of the village of al-’Auja, which lies north of Jericho, and dismantled a watermelon stand by Route 90. The operation of the stand supported a family of six.

On Sunday, 15 May 2022, at around 1:00 P.M., Jordan Valley Settlement Council employees arrived with a military escort to fields near the communities of Khirbet al-Malih and Khirbet Um al-Jamal while Palestinian farmers were harvesting their crops. The forces confiscated a harvesting machine used by the farmers and a vehicle belonging to one of the farmers for three hours to prevent them from continuing their work. The force then returned the harvesting machine to its owner but ordered the farmer whose vehicle had been confiscated to drive it to a military post near Khirbet Samrah.

On Thursday, 12 May 2022, Civil Administration personnel came with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with a bulldozer to Marj Na’jah in the Jordan Valley and demolished an agricultural pool lined with plastic sheets containing about 1,000 cubic meters of water intended for irrigation. The irrigation water stored in the pool had gone to waste.

On Wednesday morning, 11 May 22, Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with two bulldozers at the village of a-Tuwani in the Safa Yatta area, where they demolished a house under construction intended for a family of nine, including seven minors.

The forces then continued to Khirbet al-Fakhit in Masafer Yatta and demolished six structures the residents had rebuilt after the Civil Administration demolished them in January: the homes of three families numbering 24 people in total, including 15 minors, as well as two livestock enclosures and a storage shed.

After that, the forces continued to Khirbet al-Markez, also in Masafer Yatta, where they demolished five structures: the homes of four families from one extended family, numbering 14 people in total, including four minors, as well as a livestock enclosure.

On 4 May 22, Israel’s High Court of Justice approved the forcible transfer of more than 1,000 residents of Masafer Yatta whose area of residence was declared “Firing Zone 918” by the military.

On Monday, 9 May 2022, Civil Administration personnel came with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with a bulldozer to the community of Khirbet ‘Einun, east of Tubas. The forces a house intended as a seasonal home for a family from Tubas by power of Military Order 1797. From there, the forces continued south to Furush Beit Dajan, where they destroyed a greenhouse, also by power of Military Order 1797.

On Monday, 2 May 2022, Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort and equipped with a bulldozer to the village of al-‘Auja in the Jordan valley. The forces demolished a house under construction intended to house a family of eight, including four minors, and destroyed the access road leading to it.

The forces then continued north to the village of al-‘Aqabah, where at 10:00 A.M., they delivered demolition orders pursuant to Military Order 1797 for two newly completed homes intended to house two families numbering 12 people in total, including eight minors. The forces also delivered a demolition order for a kilometer-long agricultural road.

On the morning of Tuesday, 12 April 2022, personnel from the Israel National Water Company, Mekorot, arrived at the village of Bardalah in the northern Jordan Valley with armed security guards and a bulldozer. They searched for irrigation pipes Palestinian farmers had connected to Mekorot water infrastructure, found four, and disconnected them.

Drilling by Mekorot has dried out Palestinian wells in the Jordan Valley. While the company does supply water to the villages of Bardalah and Kardalah, the supply falls short of agricultural needs. Mekorot uses the same wells to provide settlers with enough water for intensive cultivation.  

On Monday, 4 April 2022, at around 4:00 P.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived at an agricultural project site near the village of al-’Auja with a military escort and a truck and confiscated a crane truck used for laying pipes.

On Thursday, 31 March 2022, at around 10:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came to the village of a-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills along with soldiers and Border Police officers. They confiscated a tractor and its trailer, claiming it had been used to build a structure against which the Civil Administration had issued a stop work order. When the tractor owners tried to resist the confiscation, members of the force pushed them forcefully, knocking down one of the family members.  

On Wednesday, 23 March 2022, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort and equipped with a bulldozer to the southern side of the village of al-’Auja. The forces demolished a house under construction intended to house a young couple by power of Military Order 1797. Later, at around 4:00 P.M., soldiers came to farmland near the community of (a-Zoabi) al-Farisiyah and confiscated a bulldozer owned by a resident of al-’Auja used for agricultural work in the area.