the Israeli occupation army demolished more than 24 Palestinian homes and water and energy facilities in the village of Jinba in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron , as part of ongoing demolition operations in the area for more than a month.
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Nidal Younis, head of the Masafer Yatta village council, said that the Israeli demolition operations began in the morning and targeted more than 24 homes and 17 “barracks” (temporary buildings with roofs often made of tin sheets) of varying sizes, and more than 15 solar cells, in addition to wells and water storage facilities.
He added that the demolition operations, in which military vehicles participated, are still ongoing, and that the Israeli occupation forces also targeted sheep pens and destroyed the contents of homes.
Younis explained that the ongoing demolitions, which have been taking place for more than a month in the Masafer Yatta area, reached the village of Jinba, one of the largest villages in the region, on Wednesday, noting that “more than 200 Palestinians have been left out in the open as a result of this policy.”
He stressed that the demolitions “affected everything,” including simple water and solar energy installations and sheep pens, as well as homes and their contents.
According to Palestinian sources, Masafer Yatta is witnessing an escalation in the demolition of homes and structures, coinciding with the imposition of restrictions on construction and the deprivation of residents of basic services, including electricity and drinking water.
Palestinians say these measures, along with settlement expansion and daily settler terrorism, are aimed at forcing the residents of Masafer Yatta to leave their homes and lands.
Masafer Yatta includes Palestinian villages and communities whose residents depend heavily on agriculture and livestock breeding, while homes, sheep pens, water wells and solar energy facilities are essential components for the continuation of their lives in the area.
On the other hand, on Wednesday, the occupation bulldozers continued to raze Palestinian lands and uproot olive trees in the village of Deir Nizam, northwest of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, for the third day in a row.
Local sources reported that the bulldozing operations affected large areas of citizens’ land and uprooted dozens of olive trees, while the occupation forces prevented the landowners from accessing their land and monitoring what was happening there.
One of the affected landowners, named Abu Muhammad, said that Israeli bulldozers had been razing areas of his land since Monday and uprooting the olive trees planted there.
He explained that between 12 and 13 dunams (a dunam equals 1,000 square meters) of his land were damaged. He added with regret, "I have no source of income left except from God Almighty."
He confirmed that the uprooted olive trees had been planted many years ago, and pointed out that some of them were Roman trees known for their good oil production.
He added that the bulldozing operations also affected his neighbors’ lands, and that the area owned by him and his neighbors that was bulldozed is estimated at between 36 and 40 dunams.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967, and the international community considers Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal under international law.
Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in 2023, the Israeli occupation army and settlers have intensified their attacks against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The attacks include the killing and arrest of Palestinians, the demolition of homes and facilities, the burning of mosques and cars, the bulldozing of agricultural lands, preventing farmers from accessing their lands, the displacement of Palestinians, and settlement expansion.
Palestinians warn that Israel is using these practices to pave the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank, thereby undermining the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
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