On last Tuesday, 23 November 2021, Israel embarked on a large-scale demolition campaign throughout the occupied West Bank, in which it destroyed and confiscated dwellings, tents, livestock enclosures, buildings under construction, a road, and even a structure intended for burial. Twenty-two Palestinians, including 15 children, lost their homes in one day.
The demolition of the house in Khirbet Ma’in, in the South Hebron Hills, Tuesday, 23 November 2021 (Photo: B’Tselem)
At around 6:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel and Border Police officers arrived at the neighborhood of Wadi al-Humos, an eastern extension of Zur Baher in occupied East Jerusalem. The forces bulldozed three buildings: a two-story building that was home to a family of five, including three minors, and a building that was home to one person. From there, the forces moved to the other side of the Separation Barrier and demolished a four-story building under construction that included three apartments.
At around 10:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military and Border Police escort to the village of Khirbet Ma’in in the South Hebron Hills. The forces bulldozed a house under construction that was home to a family of eight, including six minors.
At around 11:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to an existing agricultural road that the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and the ‘Asirah al-Shamaliyah Municipality began paving with asphalt about two months ago. The forces razed a 500-meter-long section of the road and placed seven dirt mounds at the entrance to the road from Nablus to prevent its use. The road is used by the residents of ‘Asirah al-Shamaliyah to reach their farmland and also connects the town to Nablus.
At around 1:00 P.M., the forces arrived at the village of a-Deirat, east of Yatta, and demolished a seven-room concrete structure intended for burial[2] .
Later that day, Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to the community of Ras a-Tin, east of Ramallah, and dismantled and confiscated three tents that served as livestock enclosures. From there, they continued to ‘Ein Samia where, at around 2:30 P.M., they demolished a residential tent that was home a family of eight, including six minors. They also dismantled and confiscated two livestock enclosures.
According to B’Tselem, “The wave of demolitions expresses the perception of the Israeli regime, which holds that land is a resource intended primarily to serve the Jewish population. This regime uses a variety of administrative, planning and bureaucratic tools to implement this concept. Governments come and go, but the apartheid regime remains untouched.”
