Israeli occupation forces began bulldozing large swaths of Palestinian land on Monday in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
Rami Hamamra, head of the Husan Village Council, confirmed that Israeli troops razed approximately 300 dunams of privately owned land near the western entrance of the village, in an area known locally as “al-Manazel.”
The attack was carried out without prior notice, and no legal justification was provided to the affected landowners.
This latest land clearing comes amid a broader escalation in Israeli military and colonizer violations across the Bethlehem governorate, and other parts of the West Bank.
In July, Israeli authorities issued five military seizure orders targeting a total of 31 dunams of Palestinian land in Bethlehem. These orders were used to establish three buffer zones around the illegal outpost known as “Sde Boaz,” built on land belonging to residents of al-Khader and Arab al-Ta’amra.
The July seizures coincided with a surge in demolitions. Israeli forces carried out 75 demolition attacks in the occupied West Bank, affecting 122 Palestinian structures, including 60 inhabited homes, 11 vacant dwellings, 22 agricultural facilities, and 26 sources of livelihood.
These demolitions were concentrated in Jerusalem (53 structures), Ramallah (22), and Bethlehem (18), and were often justified under the pretext of lacking Israeli-issued building permits—permits that are notoriously difficult for Palestinians to obtain.
In Husan specifically, recent weeks have seen intensified targeting of Palestinian property. On September 17, Israeli forces demolished a carwash facility owned by local resident Dia’ Za’oul, citing permit violations.
Earlier in July, an agricultural room belonging to Fadi Saleem Shusha was also destroyed in the Ein al-Balad area of the village.
Human rights organizations and local councils have condemned these actions as part of a systematic campaign to displace Palestinian communities and consolidate Israeli control over strategic areas.
The demolitions and land seizures are particularly concentrated in Area C of the West Bank, which remains under full Israeli military control.
Observers warn that the pace and scale of demolitions in 2025 may surpass previous years, with over 1,100 Palestinian-owned structures already destroyed since January.
The targeting of homes, farmland, and essential infrastructure continues to fragment Palestinian territorial continuity and deepen humanitarian vulnerabilities.
