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<b><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://english.pnn.ps/2016/04/07/35-palestinians-left-homeless-due-to-massive-demolitions-by-the-iof-wednesday/">http://english.pnn.ps/2016/04/07/35-palestinians-left-homeless-due-to-massive-demolitions-by-the-iof-wednesday/</a><br>
<br>
</small></small></small></b><small><b><big><big>35
Palestinians left homeless due to massive demolitions by the
IOF</big></big></b></small><br>
<br>
April 7, 2016<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
IOF bulldozers destroyed:<br>
<br>
-Adel Hadallen family house with 6 members;<br>
<br>
-Khadra Sulaiman Hadaleen family house with 3 members;<br>
<br>
-Sulaiman Abed Hadallen family house with 10 members;<br>
<br>
-Khairi Hadallen family house with 5 members;<br>
<br>
-Abed Sulaiman Hadaleen family house with 5 members;<br>
<br>
-Muatasem Hadaleen family with 5 members.<br>
<br>
“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.”<br>
12966729_10154661155440828_451394631_n<br>
A local resident is attacked by Israeli soldiers during the house
demolitions.<br>
<br>
“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.<br>
<br>
“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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
These Wednesday’s demolitions came amid the most extensive
demolition campaigns in the occupied West Bank in the last seven
years.<br>
<br>
Already this year, over 700 Palestinians have been displaced by
Israeli demolitions in the West Bank.<br>
<br>
According to UNRWA, this figure is approaching the total number of
displaced for all of 2015.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Just on the last few weeks, almost ten houses were demolished.<br>
<br>
On April 4, the IOF demolished the home of Azzam Mahmoud Ghnaimat in
Soureef, where he lived with his 6 family members.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
Last week, two houses and dozens of stone walls were demolished in
Al-Marjem village, in the northern occupied West Bank.<br>
<br>
Between September 13th 2015 and April 4th 2016, Israeli Occupation
Forces have demolished 157 houses in occupied Palestine.<br>
<br>
<br>
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