CPTnet
10 May 2011
SOUTH HEBRON
HILLS: Israeli military demolishes, then evacuates village of Amniyr
On Friday, May 6,
the Israeli military declared the area of Amniyr, a Palestinian
village south of Yatta, a closed military zone and chased away the families
who own the land, after demolishing structures and trees on the land the day
before. The demolitions occurred at 5 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, when the
military destroyed six shacks and uprooted 150 olive trees in Amniyr.
On Friday, the
Palestinians of Amniyr had returned to the land and hung six tarps to
create makeshift tents. The Israeli army issued a “closed military
zone” order on the area at 9:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. seven military
jeeps arrived, including police and border police. The commanders showed
the order and gave the people one minute to leave.
Using sound bombs
and tear gas, the soldiers and police forced off the land all the
Palestinians present — about thirty adults, many of them elderly, and ten
children — as well as accompanying internationals. One woman, Fatmi
Mahmoud Jaboor, passed out due to the bombs and required medical
attention. The Palestinian Red Cross evacuated her to the hospital, and she
was dismissed in the evening.
At 7 p.m. four
military jeeps returned to Amniyr and destroyed the tarps and what
had been left standing in the area.
This is the third
time in ten weeks that the military has destroyed trees, tents,
dwellings and other structures on the land of Amniyr, effectively
demolishing the entire village and affecting six families. Although Amniyr
is Palestinian-owned private property, Israel has declared it
“state land” and prohibits the people of Amniyr from building any
structures or using the land. A local Palestinian leader has told CPT that
he believes Israel is trying to confiscate the land of Amniyr because
of its proximity to the Israeli settlement of Susiya.
See more photos
of the incident at: https://cpt.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=22860
Christian
Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have maintained an international
presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
Follow breaking
news from the South Hebron hills on Twitter @cptpalestine.
