Palestinian Rights Center: Demolition of 38 structures, displacement of 58 in Masafer Yatta bolster annexation plan
OCCUPIED PALESTINE, Sept. 03 (YPA) – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that the demolition by Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday of 38 residential, agricultural and service structures in the village of Khirbet al-Tabban in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and the displacement of eight Palestinian families comprising 58 people, including 26 children and 30 women, aims to impose permanent facts on the ground, empty parts of Masafer Yatta of their Palestinian residents, and prepare the land for the expansion of settlements and their integration into Israel’s network of control in the West Bank.
The center described these measures as practical steps toward annexation and displacement.
The center referred to a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court issued in May 2022 that allowed the eviction of residents from several villages in Masafer Yatta on the pretext that the area was being used for military training. It said that Israeli authorities have since intensified their measures against the residents.
In a statement issued Thursday, the center stressed that the use of planning and zoning measures, demolition orders and judicial procedures as tools for controlling land constitutes an integrated system aimed at excluding Palestinians and forcibly displacing them.
It called on the international community to provide protection to residents, halt displacement operations, hold perpetrators of violations accountable, and end the policy of impunity.
The center recalled the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which affirmed the illegality of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and called for an end to Israel’s unlawful presence, the dismantling of settlements and the evacuation of settlers.
According to the center, the demolitions targeted 12 residential rooms and tents, seven sheds and livestock pens, and a livestock tent, in addition to five water wells, seven bathrooms, two kitchens, two bread ovens, a fodder storage facility and other water structures, with a total storage capacity of approximately 500 cubic meters of water.
The center said the total area of the demolished residential units was approximately 547 square meters and that they housed the eight targeted families. These families rely primarily on livestock farming as their source of income, meaning the demolitions simultaneously destroyed their homes, livelihoods and water sources.
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