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AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- IOF troops on Thursday afternoon dispersed a protest held by the residents of Khirbet Sousya and Khirbet Um Nir, to the east of Yatta in the southern West Bank district of al-Khalil, to protest the demolition notices handed to residents of the two hamlets by the IOF.

The IOF troops also demolished a protest tent and threatened the protestors with arrest on the pretext of hampering the work of the army, scuffles broke out between the residents and the occupation troops.

Jewish settlers on Tuesday warned the residents Khirbet Sousya that they should leave their lands so that it can be annexed to the nearby Jewish settlement. The settlers have already applied to court to annex an area of 1000 Dunums (1 Dunum=1000 square meters) which is owned by the residents of Khirbet Sousya.

Resident of a number of hamlets to the east of Yatta live on agriculture and livestock. There are around 500 residents served by two schools. Residents of the hamlets possess title deeds proving they own the land, but cannot afford to hire lawyers to fight their cases at occupation courts.