On Tuesday morning, September 27, Israeli authorities demolished 22 structures, half of them homes, in five Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Fifty-six people were left homeless, 30 of them minors under the age of eighteen. The authorities also demolished water cisterns, livestock pens, and a structure that served as a school. In the community of Khirbet Tall al-Himma, which lies south of ‘Ein al-Beida in the northern Jordan Valley, a Civil Administration force demolished six homes of five families, leaving 25 people homeless, including 10 minors. The force also demolished six livestock pens.

Zahrah Mahmoud Ayub, 68, from Khirbet Tall al-Himma, seated next to a structure demolished in her community by Israeli Civil Administration forces on September 27, 2016 (Photo: B’Tselem)

In occupied East Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Municipality demolished a residential building that was home to four families in the neighborhood of Al-Tur. This left 23 people, including 15 minors, homeless. On, Wednesday, September 28, Civil Administration forces demolished an unused water cistern in the community of Khirbet Susiya in the South Hebron Hills.

According to B’Tselem, “these actions are part of a broad demolition campaign waged by Israel since the beginning of 2016. So far this year, 234 structures have been demolished, leaving 1,010 people, including 530 minors, with no shelter. Israel’s claim that these demolitions are merely an act of law enforcement to uphold building and planning laws is absurd. This widespread destruction of homes and communities is intended to achieve Israel’s political goals in the West Bank by making life impossible for vulnerable Palestinian communities in Area C and forcing them to leave.”