As Israeli settlement expansion continues in the eastern part of the West Bank, in the Jordan Valley, another set of eviction/demolition notices were issued by the Israeli military authorities to Palestinian families on Thursday.These demolition orders are just the latest in a series of orders handed down by the ruling military, which governs the West Bank by martial law, to the indigenous Palestinian population of the Jordan Valley.
The families who received the notices were given three days to vacate their homes before Israeli armored bulldozers (usually Caterpillar D-9 models, manufactured in Illinois) arrive on the scene to turn their homes to rubble.
The families receiving demolition orders on Thursday were identified by the Wafa News Agency as: Ibrahim Salem, AlI, Dawood, Ahmad, Ibrahim, and Yousif Ebaidat, Ali Hassan, Aziz Suliman, Suliman Sawarka, Dawoud Ebaidat, Ibrahim Ebayat,Yousef Nawawra, and Mahmoud Abu Kharbish. These are all families in the village of al-Fasayil.
In the nearby village of Al-Jiftlik village, demolition orders were issued to Mahmoud Edis , Rasheed Morshed ,Omar Abu Razqa and Mut’eb Atawna.
No explanation was provided by the Israeli military authorities for the decision to demolish the 14 homes. The families were told siply that they must get out of their homes and find somewhere to go, with all their belongings, as the Israeli military will arrive on Sunday to destroy the homes whether or not the residents are present.
In January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a report detailing the evictions and demolitions that month alone, which had resulted in the displacement of 77 Palestinians.
In their report, UN OCHA stated that ‘Demolitions that result in forced evictions and displacement run counter to Israel’s obligations under international law and create unnecessary suffering and tension. They must stop immediately.’
