Israel issues demolition orders for 13 buildings in West Bank Palestinian hamlet

The Civil Administration issues demolition orders for 13 structures, including 11 homes, in the Palestinian hamlet of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills area of the West Bank.

According to the left-wing Peace Now organization, the buildings were built decades ago. The owners have four days to file an objection through the courts to halt the demolitions.

“The letters the Civil Administration has issued are part of a brutal and long-term struggle against the villagers,” Peace Now says.

The demolition orders come against the background of a petition filed by Peace Now to the Jerusalem District Court requesting that seven prefabricated homes established by Israeli settlers on the outskirts of the Carmel settlement and located just meters from Umm al-Khair be evacuated on the grounds that the dwellings were constructed without authorization and in violation of zoning designations on the land in question.

In August, when the construction work in the area began, Awdah Hathaleen, a prominent Palestinian activist featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was shot and killed, apparently by a known extremist settler who was conducting contract work for the building work.

The court issued a temporary injunction forbidding settlers from taking up residence in the homes as well as prohibiting further work to pave a road to the structures until further notice, but this order was seemingly violated and the homes have already been populated.

The state has until today to respond to the petition.