HEBRON, Israeli forces today seized an excavator from Masafer Yatta, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.
Fuad al-‘Amour, a local activist, said that Israeli forces barged their way into At-Tuwani, one of the 19 hamlets making up Masafer Yatta, and confiscated an excavator belonging to Jamal Rib‘i while the latter was rehabilitating his plot of land in al-Shi‘eb area.
In May 2022, Israel’s top court gave the army the green light to forcibly expel some 1,300 Palestinians living in twelve villages or hamlets making up the Masafer Yatta area, which relies heavily on animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood, marking one of the largest expulsions carried out by the State of Israel in recent decades.
Located in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli administrative and military control, the area has been subjected to repeated Israeli violations by settlers and soldiers targeting their main source of living – livestock.
It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.
Israeli violations against the area include demolition of animal barns, homes and residential structures. Issuance of construction permits by Israel to local Palestinians in the area is non-existent.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency