Israel demolishes Palestinian village

Submitted by AWL on 10 November, 2020 - 9:23 Author: Mohan Sen
Khirbet Humsah

B’ Tselem, the Israeli campaign for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, reports: “On 3 November 2020, with the eyes of the world on the US elections, Israel demolished an entire Palestinian community in the Jordan Valley. A convoy of bulldozers drove up to the tiny shepherds’ community of Khirbet Humsah and razed it to the ground”.

You can see a video of the demolished village here.

Israeli forces left 74 people, 41 of them children, without shelter in the wind and rain. They demolished residential tents and sheds, livestock enclosures, storage sheds, kitchens, portable toilets, water containers, livestock pens and troughs for the animals, and solar panels. They also destroyed 30 tons of animal feed and took a vehicle and two tractors.

One Khirbet Humsah resident pointed out:

“The Israeli military came with jeeps and bulldozers. They ordered us to empty our homes. They gave us only ten minutes. Obviously that isn’t enough to empty even a single tent… They demolished it all with our things inside.”

Another said:

“They demolished an entire community… What are we going to do?”

The village is (was) in area C, the Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank, where more and more demolitions are taking place as Israeli prime minister Netanyahu edges towards his announced aim of annexation. Israel suspended plans to formally annex much of the West Bank in September, as part of the deal for official relations with the United Arab Emirates, but only suspended them. House demolitions have continued throughout the pandemic.

The Trump regime greenlighted escalated Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. We must campaign for pressure on Israel to reverse its policy and accept Palestinian self-determination (a democratic “two states” settlement), as well as providing compensation for those whose homes it has destroyed.

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