The so-called “Civil Administration” that runs under the Israeli Military in the occupied West Bank, handed military orders on Tuesday for the destruction of 52 structures and tents in the Palestinian village of Susia, south of the Hebron hills, in the southern part of the West Bank.The Arabs48 news website reported that several homes, a medical clinic, a kindergarten and a building that includes a solar panel system that provides the area with electricity, will be demolished a per these orders.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the structures are scheduled to be demolished within three days, but a human rights group will likely file an appeal against the decision.
Haaretz added that the demolition orders were issued after a settler group filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court demanding it to speed up the destruction of the Palestinian property.
The judges, headed by Justice Asher Gronis, accepted the appeal and issued a temporary injunction preventing the residents of Susia from adding any tents or structures pending a decision on another appeal filed by the residents.
The lands in question are located in the occupied West Bank, therefore, under international law are considered to be part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
In 1986, Israel declared the lands of Susia a “National Garden”, and the residents were forced to locate to their agricultural lands near the village. In 2001, the residents were attacked again, and were removed from the lands by the Israeli military and armed Israeli settlers. The caves and the tin houses, which they used as homes, were demolished.
Haaretz said that the Israeli High Court was the same legal body that issued an order preventing the demolition of the homes, and preventing the attempts to evict the residents, due to the fact that the final structural map of the village was not approved yet.
The residents then returned to their lands, and built homes and structures without obtaining construction permits from Israel; Israel then issued orders for the destruction of all new structures, adding them to the list that contained 18 older structures that were installed by the residents.
