Israeli forces to seize entrance of Palestinian village near Hebron

Israeli forces to seize entrance of Palestinian village near Hebron
Israeli forces issued an order to take over the entrance of the village of At-Tuwani, located south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank
2 min read
28 July, 2022
Israeli soldiers and settlers commonly use violence against Palestinians in the West Bank [Getty]

Israeli forces are about to seize the entrance to a village south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank

On Tuesday, the Israeli army posted a military order to take over the entrance of the village of At-Tuwani, which also leads to Masafer Yatta, local activist Fouad Al-Imour told Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa.

Around 180 square meters of land that belongs to the Abu Sabha and Rab'i families are being seized.

At-Tuwani is made up of two small communities and together with Masafer Yatta, the area covers almost 19 communities and consists of 37.5 square kilometers.

The farmers in the communities rely heavily on agriculture as their main source of livelihood.

Masafer Yatta is an area near Hebron that the Israeli army has designated as a firing zone.

Israel's Supreme Court in May upheld this, greenlighting the destruction of homes and forcible ejection of over 1,000 Palestinians from 12 villages.

The court said Palestinians did not reside permanently in Masafer Yatta when the military claimed it four decades ago.

But locals and Israeli rights groups reject this, saying they have been there before Israel's 1967 capture of the West Bank.

Palestinian residents are refusing to leave Masafer Yatta, hoping their resilience and international pressure will stop their expulsion by Israel.

Israeli soldiers and settlers commonly use violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, as documented by numerous human rights groups.

More than 600,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.