CPTnet
29 March 2011
SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Israeli military demolishes village of
Amniyr for second time in five weeks
The Israeli military demolished the village of Amniyr early on
March 28 for the second time, destroying seven tent dwellings and a sheep pen. (Read account of previous demolition.)
The military attempted to confiscate a tractor as well, but
villagers surrounded it and refused to leave. According to villagers, six people required hospitalization
after soldiers tried forcefully to remove them from the tractor before giving
up and leaving the tractor in the village.
Israel does not deny that the demolished homes are on
private land owned by the village’s Palestinian residents. However, Israel has declared the land to
be “agricultural,” and prohibits the residents from constructing dwellings,
cisterns, or structures of any kind, essentially making it illegal for these
villagers to live on their land.
Immediately after soldiers finished the demolitions,
villagers began to reconstruct what they could from the rubble. As residents started gathering stones
from a demolished sheep pen, an Israeli bulldozer could be seen across the
valley excavating new construction for the Israeli settlement of Susiya.
Additional photos are available here.
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have
maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since
2004.
[According to the Geneva Conventions, the International
Court of Justice in The Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal.
Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]
