Israel expels Palestinians from Jordan Valley for army training

The Israeli army forcefully expelled five Palestinian families from their homes yesterday in order to carry out military training in their village which is located in the Jordan Valley area of the northern occupied West Bank.

Local activist Aaref Daraghmeh told Ma’an that Israeli forces raided the Tubas-area village of Khirbet Humsa Al-Fawqa, whose residents live in tents.

Daraghmeh said that Israeli forces expelled five families, sending them several kilometres away from their tents in order to conduct military training in the area.

Israeli authorities had reportedly notified the families about the planned evacuation one month ago.

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The Jordan Valley forms a third of the occupied West Bank, with 88 per cent of its land classified as Area C which falls under full Israeli military control.

Some 57 per cent of the land in the Jordan Valley has been declared closed military zones, also known as a “firing zones” where Israeli army forces routinely train using live ammunition and explosive devices.

Nearly 20 per cent of the occupied West Bank has been declared “firing zones” since the 1970s, but according to the UN, some 80 per cent of these areas are not in fact used for military training. However, when military training does take place, Israel forces families to leave their homes for hours or days at a time until the drill is over.