Israel reportedly expands demolition order for threatened Palestinian village

Israeli occupation authorities have reportedly expanded the demolition order for the Palestinian village of Susiya, handing villagers documents detailing the destruction of 40 per cent of their land, reported Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) yesterday.

On 22 November, the Israeli Attorney’s Office announced a plan to demolish 20 buildings within 15 days in the West Bank village of Susiya, which represent one-fifth of the village, PSC noted.

“The demolition will violate the fundamental human rights of many of the villagers, half of them children,” PSC noted, adding: “The village’s health clinic, which provides health services for around 500 people, is among the buildings under threat.”

More details were included in a press release by Haqel: In Defence of Human Rights, whose executive director, Adv. Quamar Mishirqi-Assad, described the state’s updated plans as meaning “the immediate devastation of the village…and the fabric of life therein”.

Read: Israel officials prepare for mass demolition in occupied East Jerusalem

“It should be noted that in addition to residential homes, a school is also slated for demolition in the middle of the school year (despite the fact that the school was not included in the original plan the state undertook to implement)”.

In addition, “a clinic, solar panels constituting the sole source of electricity in the village, and various other buildings filling specific humanitarian functions are all also due to be demolished.”

Meanwhile, Nasser Nawajaa, Susiya Village Council spokesperson, has appealed “to the international community to stand with us in all possible ways in the face of enforced expulsion by the Israeli state”, demanding “the right to self-determination over the natural development of our village”.

Today sees a scheduled Parliamentary debate in Westminster on the effect of Israeli demolitions on Palestinian communities. An Early Day Motion (EDM) condemning the pending demolitions in Susiya has attracted the support of over two dozen British MPs in a week.

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Ben Jamal, director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “These demolitions will expose this farming community not only to the winter weather conditions, but also to the theft of their land by settlers living in the adjacent Israeli settlement; an act which will not be easily reversed.”

“This demolition order, if enacted, will constitute a violation of the most basic human rights of the people of Susiya as well as their most basic humanitarian needs for shelter. The UK government must act now to prevent the demolition of Susiya, and to reject Israel’s policies of denying Palestinians permits to build on their own land, home demolitions, and land theft.”

Settlement – Cartoon [Sarwar Ahmed/MiddleEastMonitor]