[News] 35 Palestinians left homeless due to massive demolitions by the Israeli Occupation Forces

[Anti-Imperialist News]

*http://english.pnn.ps/2016/04/07/35-palestinians-left-homeless-due-to-massive-demolitions-by-the-iof-wednesday/

**35 Palestinians left homeless due to massive demolitions by the IOF*

April 7, 2016

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday demolished six homes in 
Khirbet Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron, leaving 35 Palestinians homeless, 
according to local residents.

According to eyewitness Bilal Hadaleen, dozens of soldiers entered the 
village in the early morning and asked the families to leave their 
houses, upon which bulldozers proceeded to demolish the houses.

IOF bulldozers destroyed:

-Adel Hadallen family house with 6 members;

-Khadra Sulaiman Hadaleen family house with 3 members;

-Sulaiman Abed Hadallen family house with 10 members;

-Khairi Hadallen family house with 5 members;

-Abed Sulaiman Hadaleen family house with 5 members;

-Muatasem Hadaleen family with 5 members.

“This is the eighth time the occupation demolished homes in Umm 
al-Kheir,” local Suleiman al-Hathalin said, referring to the demolitions 
as “ethnic cleansing.”
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A local resident is attacked by Israeli soldiers during the house 
demolitions.

“Thirty-five people have become homeless, while settlers of the illegal 
Karmel settlement are living a luxurious life only a few steps away from 
my home,” Suleiman said, adding that the IOF had demolished his home in 
effort to displace him.

“I had already become a refugee when I was displaced from my land in 
Arad [in 1948] and the occupation is now trying to displace me again,” 
Suleiman continued. “We will never leave,” he added.

The Umm al-Kheir community has faced ongoing threat of displacement 
since the Karmel settlement was illegally established in 1981 and 
expanded onto villagers’ land.

Palestinian applications for building permits from the Israeli 
authorities are rarely granted there, once the village is located in 
Area C – under full IOF control – forcing local residents to build 
without proper permits.

These Wednesday’s demolitions came amid the most extensive demolition 
campaigns in the occupied West Bank in the last seven years.

Already this year, over 700 Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli 
demolitions in the West Bank.

According to UNRWA, this figure is approaching the total number of 
displaced for all of 2015.

Lance Bartholomeusz, Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, said 
that he was “appalled” by the “unjustifiable” demolitions, which are in 
violation of international law.

Just on the last few weeks, almost ten houses were demolished.

On April 4, the IOF demolished the home of Azzam Mahmoud Ghnaimat in 
Soureef, where he lived with his 6 family members.

Also on on April 4, Israel demolished the homes of Ahmad Nassar, 
Muhammad Kmeil and Ahmad Abu a-Rob, in a punitive measure for a gun 
operation the three carried out on February 3, 2016, at Damascus Gate, 
in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Last week, two houses and dozens of stone walls were demolished in 
Al-Marjem village, in the northern occupied West Bank.

Between September 13th 2015 and April 4th 2016, Israeli Occupation 
Forces have demolished 157 houses in occupied Palestine.


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