Hebron - Arab Today
Four people were injured and 26 Palestinians were left homeless after Israeli forces assaulted locals and demolished Palestinian structures in the village of Susiya in the southern occupied West Bank last night.
According to the Israeli organization Rabbis for Human Rights, two homes were demolished in the southern part of Susiya, in addition to agricultural structures, including a barn and an outdoor kitchen, Ma'an news agency reported.
Jihad Nawajaah, head of the local council of Susiya, told Ma’an that an Israeli bulldozer under military protection tore down a two-room brick house that belonged to Khalil Salameh Nawajaah.
He highlighted that seven members of Nawajaah family were left homeless and would likely spend the night in the open.
A statement released by Rabbis for Human Rights said: "In a shocking, cruel, and rare move, the Israeli authorities carried out demolitions today in Susiya and around Diraat. This despite the fact that it is the holy month of Ramadan, many are fasting, and the temperatures are soaring".
The group said that after Palestinians and international solidarity activists remained inside one of the houses to resist the demolition, Israeli forces violently beat them, injuring four people, and that Israeli soldiers pushed elderly locals as well as women.
After carrying demolitions in Susiya, the convoy of bulldozers and Israeli military vehicles subsequently continued toward the nearby village of Diraat, seemingly to carry out further demolitions, the statement added.
The residents of Susiya, added Nawajaah, have been facing a "systematic" process of displacement and home demolition, while farmers and shepherds have also been prevented from tending to their agricultural lands.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 900 Palestinians have been left homeless by Israeli home demolitions since the start of the year.
The majority were demolished in Area C, the more than 60% of the occupied West Bank under full Israeli control, which includes Susiya.
OCHA found that between 2010 and 2014, only 1.5% of 2,020 building permit requests submitted were approved.
Source ; QNA