Israeli forces demolish homes in West Bank hamlet, saying they were built illegally

Residents of a Bedouin hamlet in the West Bank say Israeli forces have demolished several homes which authorities say were built without permits, leaving nearly a quarter of the village, including a prominent Palestinian artist, without a home.

Israeli bulldozers and army vehicles entered Umm al-Khair in the southern West Bank early this morning and demolished at least seven homes before leaving, Palestinian residents tell The Associated Press. The soldiers then returned, they said, and arrested one resident.

Amateur videos from the village show bulldozers crashing into the walls of homes as residents look on. Israeli police officers are seen keeping Palestinians and left-wing Israeli activists away from the demolition zone.

قوات الاحتـ.ـلال تشن حملة هدم كبيرة لمنازل الفلسطينيين في قرية أم الخير بمسافر يطا جنوب الخليل pic.twitter.com/WfUyqEX3EG

— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) June 26, 2024

Residents say five families, roughly 40 of the village’s 200 residents, have been left homeless. That allegedly includes around 30 children.

“No one expected this,” says Awdah Hathaleen, a 29-year-old teacher and lifelong resident of the village. “But the people will not leave this place.”

The demolitions included the home of Eid Suleman, an activist and artist whose work has been exhibited alongside well-known exiled Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Suleman says soldiers gave his family only 30 minutes to remove their belongings from the home before they demolished it, destroying his kitchen and closet and leaving dishes broken all over the ground.

“Today I am the victim of what I have been advocating against all these years in universities and communities around the world,” he claims. “My children I sent to the neighbors. I will sleep outside to stay near the clothes and dishes that are now under the sky.”

A military order given to residents said part of the village was declared a closed military zone. It called the area Carmel Farms, using the name of an adjacent fenced-off Israeli settlement.

“On one side of the fence, there are people with rights,” argues Guy Butavia, a leftist Israeli activist who joined the villagers. On the other, he asserts, “they have no rights. They cannot live on their own private land.”

The Israeli military body responsible for civilian matters in the West Bank, COGAT, says the structures that were demolished were built illegally and without permits. It adds that Israel’s highest court has ruled the structures can be removed. Palestinians in the areas have long said it is virtually impossible to get construction permits from Israeli authorities.

The demolitions are the latest in a string of demolitions in the village, which was founded by Palestinians displaced from the Negev Desert in southern Israel during the 1948 Independence War.

Since October 7, residents say settler violence has grown more common.