A number of Bedouin communities east of Jerusalem were raided by Israeli forces,on Thursday, just days after residents were served demolition and evacuation orders.Popular committee spokesman Hani Halabiya told Ma’an News Agency that dozens of soldiers entered the Khillet al-Qamar area in Abu Dis, escorted by a bulldozer, as a military plane circled above.
The bulldozer then proceeded to demolish walls surrounding homes and lands in the area without warning.
Mr. Halabiya stated that the demolitions were part of a larger Israeli plan to displace some 14,000 Bedouins living in nearly two dozen communities across the West Bank.
Ma’an reports that, over the past week, Palestinian agriculture and foreign affairs ministers, in additiona to 42 local and international organizations, including Israeli, have condemned the plans, which aim to relocate the Beoduins into two towns.
The move is said to be directed at clearing thousands of acres of lands for the construction of more Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank, with special focus on the E1 corridor which cuts across the heart of the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Israeli authorities have denied that the plans are a covert attempt at the forcible transfer of Palestinian Bedouins but, rather, intend to improve quality of life for some of the 90,000 Bedouin Israeli citizens.
Palestinians in Israel, however, have witnessed similiar moves against their communities, according to Ma’an.
Search IMEMC: ‘bedouin’, ‘prawer plan’, ‘demolition’
