Israel – Ethnic cleansing devoid of pity: the Jordan Valley

Israeli Army Destroying Palestinian Homes

February 14 - Every single home in the West Bank villages of Humsa and Hadidiya is slated for destruction. The Israeli army has declared most of the Jordan Valley, where the villages are situated, as a "closed military area" from which the local Palestinian population is barred.

The local Palestinian population – which has been there since long before Israeli forces occupied the area four decades ago – is being put under increasing pressure to leave the area. On the morning of 6 February, Israeli army bulldozers destroyed the homes and livelihoods of four Palestinian families in Hadidiya, in the Jordan Valley area of the occupied West Bank.

...The Israeli army served demolition orders on all the residents of Hadidiya in April 2007, giving them 10 days to leave their homes. Most of the villagers moved to nearby Humsa, about a kilometre away.

Four months later, in August, Israeli army bulldozers razed several tents and animal pens in Humsa, leaving some 40 villagers homeless, and, on 3 January 2008, Israeli forces destroyed 12 homes and as many animal shelters in Fasayl, further south in the Jordan Valley.

The Palestinian villagers have to travel miles to get water for their basic needs, but even this is made difficult. Israeli military checkpoints and blockades restrict their movements on main roads and, last August, their tractors and water tanks were confiscated by Israeli soldiers. The villagers could only retrieve these vital items after paying a large fine.

In contrast, Israeli settlements – established in blatant violation of international law – continue to be expanded in the area and Israeli settlers are allowed to move freely and use vast quantities of water.
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