Israeli Civil Administration demolishes all the structures in Palestinian village

B'Tselem - On 2 March 2011, the Civil Administration demolished all the structures in the Palestinian village Khirbet Tana, in the Jordan Valley. This is the sixth time that the Civil Administration has demolished structures in the village since 2005, and the fourth in the last four months. The pretext for the demolitions is that the village is located within a closed military area intended for military exercises, in which Palestinians and Palestinian construction are prohibited.

Khirbet Tana is a small Bedouin community of 250 persons to the east of Beit Furik. The community has lived in the western section of the Jordan Valley for dozens of years, gaining their livelihood from farming and raising livestock.

For many years, residents of the village, like other Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, have suffered from Israel’s policy restricting their access to extensive land areas of land, in an attempt to remove them from the area. The village lies in Area C, which is under complete Israeli control, on land that was, in the 1970s, classified a closed military area when some of the residents were already living there. According to residents of the village, the area has never been used for military exercises. Israel’s restrictions on movement prevent rapid access to the village from main traffic arteries in the Jordan Valley, compelling the residents to use alternate, dirt roads from the Nablus area.

In recent years, villagers twice petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the army reduce the area in which entry is prohibited and that the Civil Administration prepare an outline plan for the village to enable them to build their houses lawfully. The petitions were denied “for substantive reasons relating to the needs of the surrounding area.”

The army has carried out four demolition operations in the village in the past four months, destroying temporary and permanent structures, and enclosures for livestock. On 8 December 2010, the Civil Administration demolished 18 structures, including a school and six residential dwellings, leaving 48 persons, among them 14 minors, homeless. On 9 February 2011, the Civil Administration destroyed nine residential dwellings and 12 enclosures for livestock. This operation left 60 persons, including 19 minors, homeless. A week and a half later, on 20 February, the Civil Administration demolished seven residential dwellings (in which 58 persons, including 21 children, lived) and seven livestock enclosures....
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