Description

One of the five stop work/demolition orders Israel distributed in Tuba this week
Photo: Operation Dove

by Connie Hackbarth, Alternative Information Center (AIC)

Israel continues its policies of forced transfer against Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills area, distributing five stop work/demolition orders on Monday morning to landowners in the village of Tuba. This follows on the heels of last week’s delivery of some 50 demolition orders to the South Hebron Hills village of Susiya, orders which will wipe the community of Susiya off the map.

According to Operation Dove, a non-violent peace corps of the Papa Giovanni XXIII association, which has maintained an ongoing presence in the South Hebron Hills area since 2004, the stop work/demolition orders will directly impact 20 people and two of the village’s three families. The orders concern three tents and a toilet made of tin, a compound for sheep and a pavilion belonging to the first family; a house, a tent used as storage and another tent with a concrete floor belonging to the second family.

Finally, two stop working orders were issued against ten solar panels and an electric turbine donated in 2010 by Community Electricity and Technology Middle East (COMET-ME), an Israeli NGO that supports the economic and social empowerment of local communities through material support and environmental sustainability.

Ibrahim Ali Awad and Ibrahim Mohammad Jendi, representatives of the two Tuba families who received the orders, told the AIC that their homes were built 3-5 years ago and that this is the first time they received any notice from the Israeli authorities concerning these structures.

In April this year the Israel Civil Administration issued stop work orders on solar panels and wind turbine systems in six separate communities in the West Bank. These systems were also installed by COMET-ME, and funded in large part by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The European Union called on Israel to halt a policy of forced transfer to Palestinian residents of Area C, a press release said Monday. Approximately 150,000 Palestinians live in Area C, which accounts for over 60 percent of the West Bank and includes Tuba and the South Hebron Hills area more generally

The call came after a group of EU diplomats visited the village of Susiya last Friday “to show their concerns over the humanitarian impact and political implications of the recent demolition orders for the village's 50 residential shelters,” according to the press release.

The EU has called upon Israel to meet its obligations regarding the living conditions of the Palestinian population in Area C, including halting forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure, simplifying administrative procedures to obtain building permits, ensuring access to water and addressing humanitarian needs,” added the press release.

Residents of Tuba have until 9 July to appeal the orders.