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Israel evicts 30 families from Jordan Valley for settlement expansion

November 10, 2017 at 2:10 pm

Israel demolished Palestinian home in northern Jordan Valley on September 16th 2016 [Nedal Eshtayah/Wikipedia]

As part of the Israeli occupation’s on-going plans to control the Jordan Valley, the occupation authorities have issued a decision to evacuate the Ein Al Hilweh and Um Al-Jamal area in the Al-Maleh area within eight days.

A member of the Jordan Valley municipal council, Mahdi Daraghmeh, told the Ma’an news agency that families in the areas received evacuation notices ordering them to evacuate nearly 60 facilities, including houses, barns and agricultural facilities in the area. The houses are inhabited by 30 families, consisting of 200 members. They have been ordered to evacuate within eight days from the issuance of the notices.

According to Daraghmeh, the eight days have already elapsed as the notices were issued on 1 November but only reached the families yesterday – eight days later. The families are now living in fear that occupation forces will raid the villages and expel them at any moment.

The notices that reached the families were signed by the Commander of the Israeli army’s Central Command, Roni Numa, and ordered the families to leave their homes and land. The notices stated that the land would be confiscated and settlement construction would begin.

Read: $800m lost annually due to occupation of Jordan Valley

Israeli media yesterday reported plans set out by the Israeli housing minister, ordering the intensification of settlement construction in the Jordan Valley and multiplying the settler population there from 6,000 to 12,000. He also stated that aid would be offered to the settlements that expressed interest in hosting new settler families, and there have been marketing campaigns to attract new settlers to the area.