Amniyr
Amniyr, South Hebron Hills, West Bank At 5:00 a.m. yesterday morning, the
Israeli army, accompanied by members of the Israeli District Coordinating
Office, arrived at the village of Amniyr and demolished five tent-houses, two
cisterns and the village’s olive trees.
The demolitions effectively destroyed the entire village and left its
three families homeless. All that remained unharmed after the military
left was a cave and a small taboun oven.
According to villagers, the military had been coming frequently for the past
several months and delivering demolition orders and maps claiming that the
village was on Israeli state land, and that their homes would be demolished
unless everyone left.
Residents of Amniyr told CPT that they have suffered from years of settler and
army harassment. Years ago,
members of the Jaboor family lived in the cave in Amniyr, but Israeli military
and settler harassment forced them to move to a different area a few kilometers
away. The harassment continued in their new location, however, convincing
the family to move back to tents close to their original cave just over a year
ago.
What was once a small village is now a pile of dirt mounds, uprooted olive
trees and shattered clocks and dishware.
“Where are we supposed to sleep tonight?” said Moath Jaboor, who
lived in a tent with his mother. “We’ll
have to rebuild our homes so that we can sleep.”
Video of the incident is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLe1MrVfoT0
.
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have
maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since
2004.
