Israeli forces demolish Palestinian house in Jericho

Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian house early on Tuesday outside the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, south of Jericho.

The house belonged to Yousef Karshan, a disabled father of four, and was built on the edge of the refugee camp, a few metres inside the limits of "Area C", where according to the Oslo Accords, Palestinians are not allowed to build or construct by Israel.

هدمت قوات الاحتلال، الثلاثاء، منزلًا قيد الإنشاء بمحاذاة مخيم #عقبة_جبر في #أريحا للمواطن علي الكرشان بحجة البناء بدون ترخيص، علمًا أن الاحتلال هدم قبل شهر منزل شقيق صاحب المنزل، يوسف الكرشان. pic.twitter.com/SQ4YktEL1g

— amany ashraf (@amanyas41076150) July 19, 2022

"Yousef lives with his wife and children in a barrack of wood and tent cloth, just like me and my family," Ali Karshan, Yousef's cousin, told The New Arab.

"Area C" covers over 61% of the West Bank surface. It includes settlements, borders, water resources, agricultural lands and all of the Jordan Valley, except the city of Jericho's urban area and two refugee camps, one of which is Aqbat Jabr.

Ras a Tin Jordan Valley. Families who had long suffered from the daily severe harassment of the settlers left the place. Law enforcement ignored all their complaints.
This is what a transfer looks like. pic.twitter.com/wnsuzwgJ4Y

— Looking the OCCUPATION in the eye (@MistaclimEN) July 10, 2022

"In recent months, Israel has ramped up demolitions against Palestinian property in the Jordan Valley", Fares Fuqaha, a human rights activist in the Jordan Valley, said to The New Arab. "Demolitions include farming barracks, irrigation pools and greenhouses, as well as confiscation of equipment." 

Israeli leaders have repeatedly promised to annex the Jordan Valley, home to dozens of Palestinian villages and Bedouin communities. Recently, Israeli settler leaders announced a plan to expand settlements on some 1,000 km2 of natural land, swallowing a big part of the Jordan Valley.