Israeli occupation authorities delivered demolition and stop-work orders on Tuesday targeting 14 structures in the Bedouin hamlet of Um al-Kheir, located in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank’s southern part.
The orders include residential homes, a community center, agricultural facilities, and a health unit—marking a new phase in what residents fear is a large-scale displacement campaign.
Local sources confirmed that Israeli forces, accompanied by personnel from the so-called “Civil Administration,” the administrative branch of the illegal occupation, stormed the area and handed out final demolition notices. Among the targeted structures are:
- Um al-Kheir Community Center – Final demolition order
- Plastic shelter (approx. 500 m²) owned by Khalil Mohammad al-Hathalin – Final demolition order
- Residential homes belonging to: Yasser Eid al-Hathalin, Sarah Eid al-Hathalin, Khalil Shuaib al-Hathalin, Khairallah Suleiman al-Hathalin, Husam Salem Eid al-Hathalin, Bilal Salem Eid al-Hathalin, Mousa Suleiman al-Hathalin, Eid Suleiman al-Hathalin, Maliha Hamad al-Hathalin, and Omar Suleiman al-Hathalin – All issued final demolition orders
- Home of Zayed Suleiman al-Hathalin – Stop-work order
- Health unit owned by Khadra Suleiman al-Hathalin – Final demolition order
Residents also reported that Israeli forces seized private property during the invasion after the army isolated their community.
Um al-Kheir is one of the most frequently targeted Bedouin communities in Masafer Yatta. Since 2007, it has endured more than 20 demolition campaigns affecting over 100 residential, agricultural, and service structures, the most recent occurring in February 2025.
The community continues to face harsh living conditions, compounded by the killing of elder activist Suleiman al-Hathalin and the rise in settler violence.
A new illegal colonialist outpost was recently established on village land, intensifying efforts to forcibly displace residents and confiscate their territory.
Early Tuesday morning, Israeli occupation forces demolished two Palestinian homes in the village of Shuqba, located west of Ramallah in the central part of the occupied West Bank.
On Monday, Israeli occupation forces carried out a wave of demolitions targeting Palestinian homes and structures across the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of 2025, Israeli authorities have intensified the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank, targeting homes, agricultural facilities, and essential infrastructure. These demolitions have displaced hundreds of families and disrupted access to basic services in vulnerable communities.
From January through August 2025, at least 168 structures were demolished, including residential buildings, shops, tents, water tanks, and agricultural rooms.
In May alone, 38 demolitions were documented, with the Jerusalem governorate accounting for 14 of them. Hebron saw five demolitions that month, while Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Qalqilia each recorded between three and five. In Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, Israeli forces destroyed over 85 percent of the structures in the Khallet Ad-Dabe’ community, leaving nearly all residents homeless.
In Tulkarem, particularly in and around Nur Shams refugee camp, Israeli forces have launched a sweeping campaign targeting infrastructure. At least 106 structures have been slated for demolition, and 15 housing units have already been destroyed. These actions have severely impacted access to shelter, water, and electricity, and have been widely condemned by humanitarian organizations.
Most of the demolitions occur in Area C, where Israel maintains full military and administrative control. Under Israeli planning regulations, Palestinians face near-total denial of building permits, rendering most construction “unauthorized” and vulnerable to demolition. Rights groups and UN agencies have repeatedly criticized these policies as discriminatory and a form of forced displacement.
Between October 7, 2023, and October 5, 2025, Israeli authorities carried out 1,014 demolition attacks across the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, targeting 3,679 structures.
These included 1,288 inhabited homes, 244 uninhabited homes, and 962 agricultural and other facilities. During the same period, 1,667 demolition orders were issued against Palestinian properties.
These demolitions are taking place as Israel continues its illegal annexation of Palestinian land, the construction and expansion of its colonies, and a serious escalation by soldiers and illegal paramilitary colonizers against Palestinians, their homes, and their land—an escalation that has intensified notably since the start of the olive harvest season.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
