Israel demolished the Bedouin herding community of Khirbet Humsu in the occupied West Bank, the latest chapter in the military’s attempts to uproot the Palestinian village of makeshift homes. The army arrived without warning at 9 a.m., asked the residents to move, and when they refused, began flattening the makeshift homes. At least 65 people, including 35 children, were displaced.
The demolitions left the villagers, who earn their livelihood primarily by herding sheep, homeless for at least the fifth time in the past year. The EU in the past has helped residents rebuild after previous demolitions.
The Israeli government, now run by a coalition headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, says the village was built illegally in the middle of a military firing range. But non-Jewish Israelis say it is nearly impossible to receive building permits in Israeli-controlled territory, and human rights groups accuse Israel of stifling Palestinian development to make way for Israeli needs. Just a few kilometers away on either side are two large Jewish farming settlements, with greenhouses, animal enclosures and irrigated fields.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank Israeli forces demolished the family home of Muntasser Shalaby in the village of Turmus Ayya with controlled explosions. He was arrested days after a drive-by shooting attack, killing Israeli student Yehuda Guetta and wounding two others. His wife, Sanaa Shalaby, told the AP they were estranged for several years and that he spent most of his time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had married three other women in unofficial Islamic ceremonies. The entire family has U.S. citizenship. Human rights groups view punitive demolitions of the homes of Palestinians who attacked Israelis as a form of collective punishment.
The U.S. Embassy said, “As we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual.”
Israel levels West Bank home of Palestinian-American suspect (apnews.com)
Further background here
Material World: Ethnic cleansing the desert – spgb.net (worldsocialism.org)
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