Civil Administration demolishes buildings in Palestinian Bedouin hamlet targeted by settlers

The Civil Administration, a department of the Defense Ministry, demolishes four buildings in the Palestinian Bedouin hamlet of Khallet a-Sidra, which was largely abandoned after being raided by extremist settlers violently raided in January this year.

According to Youssef Zawahreh, a former resident of the hamlet, all four buildings in Khallet a-Sidra, which lies just northeast of Jerusalem, belonged to him.

“All my buildings are gone. This was the work of 20 years; all my life was there, I have nothing left,” Zawahreh tells The Times of Israel by telephone.

The Civil Administration confirms that an “enforcement” operation was carried out on the structures, which it said were illegal.

Zawahreh says, however, that he had built the structures many years ago, and insists that the timing of the destruction and the targeting of his buildings was designed to prevent him specifically from returning to Khallet a-Sidra since, he says, he is the only former resident who is still trying to preserve the existence of the hamlet.

Zawahreh and his wife were severely beaten in the January settler attack, and now live in makeshift accommodation in Mukhmas.

Following the January attack, all 15 families abandoned Khallet a-Sidra, and the IDF then placed roadblocks on the road leading from the hamlet to Mukhmas, which meant it would be extremely difficult for residents to conduct their everyday affairs if they should decide to return home.

The IDF and Civil Administration has also refused to let any of the residents rebuild homes that were burned down by the settlers in the January attack.

Read more: Settlers drove an entire village into exile. Palestinians say the state is keeping them away